Apparatus, system, and method for destaging cached data

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses, systems, methods, and computer program products are disclosed for destaging cached data. A method includes caching write in a nonvolatile solid-state cache by appending the data to a log of the nonvolatile solid-state cache. The log includes a sequential, log-based structure preserved in the nonvolatile solid-state cache. A method includes destaging at least a portion of the data from the nonvolatile solid-state cache to the backing store in a cache log order. The cache log order comprises an order in which the data was appended to the log of the nonvolatile solid-state cache.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/088,211 entitled “APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHODFOR DESTAGING CACHED DATA” filed on Apr. 15, 2011, and which claimspriority to: U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/435,192 entitled“APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR DESTAGING CACHED DATA” filed on Jan.21, 2011 for David Atkisson et. al; U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/373,271 entitled “APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR CACHING DATA”filed on Aug. 12, 2010 for David Flynn; U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/952,123 entitled “APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR SOLID-STATESTORAGE AS CACHE FOR HIGH-CAPACITY, NONVOLATILE STORAGE” filed on Dec.6, 2007 for David Flynn et. al and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,019,938 onSep. 13, 2011, and which claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/974,470 filed on Sep. 22, 2007 and to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/873,111 filed on Dec. 6, 2006; andU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/877,971 entitled “APPARATUS, SYSTEM,AND METHOD FOR CACHING DATA ON A SOLID-STATE STORAGE DEVICE” filed onSep. 8, 2010 for David Flynn et. al and issued as U.S. Pat. No.8,719,501 on May 6, 2014, and which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/373,271 filed on Aug. 12, 2010, U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/240,966 filed on Sep. 9, 2009, andto U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/240,573 filed on Sep. 8,2009, each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to caching data and moreparticularly relates to destaging cached data.

BACKGROUND Description of the Related Art

For write-back caches, write data stored in the cache is written back toan associated backing store to persist the data in the backing store.The rate and the timing with which cached data is written to a backingstore can affect the operation and the efficiency of a cache, becausedata that is not yet stored in the backing store cannot be evicted fromthe cache without losing the data. Attributes of a backing store canalso affect the rate and the timing with which cached data can bewritten to the backing store.

BRIEF SUMMARY

From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need existsfor an apparatus, system, and method that destage cached data from acache to a backing store. Beneficially, such an apparatus, system, andmethod would account for attributes of the cache and of the backingstore.

The present invention has been developed in response to the presentstate of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems andneeds in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currentlyavailable data caches. Accordingly, the present invention has beendeveloped to provide an apparatus, system, and method for destagingcached data that overcome many or all of the above-discussedshortcomings in the art.

Methods are presented for destaging cached data. In one embodiment amethod includes detecting caching write data in a nonvolatilesolid-state cache by appending the data to a log of the nonvolatilesolid-state cache. The log, in one embodiment, includes a sequential,log-based structure preserved in the nonvolatile solid-state cache. In afurther embodiment, a method includes destaging at least a portion ofthe data from the nonvolatile solid-state cache to the backing store ina cache log order. The cache log order, in one embodiment, includes anorder in which the data was appending to the log of the nonvolatilesolid-state cache.

In another embodiment, the method includes destaging at least a portionof the data from the nonvolatile solid-state cache to the backing storein a sequential backing store address order. The method, in oneembodiment, includes determining a destaging pressure for thenonvolatile solid-state cache. In a further embodiment, the destagingpressure includes a level of demand for destaging cached data of thenonvolatile solid-state cache. In one embodiment, the method includesadjusting a destaging rate to satisfy the destaging pressure byadjusting a ratio of data to destage in the cache log order to data todestage in the sequential backing store address order. In anotherembodiment, the method includes preventing destaging of data within apredefined distance of an append point of the log of the nonvolatilesolid-state cache.

The sequential backing store address order, in one embodiment, includesone or more ranges of address contiguous data in a range that issequentially ordered by backing store address. Destaging data insequential backing store address order, in a further embodiment,includes traversing a mapping structure that maps backing storeaddresses to locations on physical storage media of the nonvolatilesolid-state cache. Destaging data in sequential backing store addressorder, in a further embodiment, includes selecting a destage data rangesuch that members of the data range have contiguous and sequentialbacking store addresses.

In one embodiment, each backing store address directly maps to a logicaladdress of the nonvolatile solid-state cache. In a further embodiment,logical addresses of the cache are independent of physical storage mediaaddresses of the nonvolatile solid-state cache. A logical address spaceof the nonvolatile solid-state cache, in another embodiment, exceeds astorage capacity of the physical storage media of the nonvolatilesolid-state cache.

The nonvolatile solid-state cache, in one embodiment, has a lowerdestage rate destaging in the cache log order than destaging in thesequential backing store address order. The backing store, in a furtherembodiment, has a higher write rate destaging in the sequential backingstore address order than destaging in the cache log order.

Determining the destaging pressure, in one embodiment, includesdetermining a difference between an actual amount of dirty write data ofthe nonvolatile solid-state cache and a target amount of dirty writedata of the nonvolatile solid-state cache. In a further embodiment,dirty write data includes write data cached in the nonvolatilesolid-state cache that has not been destaged to the backing store.

Destaging in cache log order, in one embodiment, includes destaging dataregion by region, the regions ordered in cache log order. In a furtherembodiment, the method includes re-ordering data of a region to abacking store address order so that the regions destage in the cache logorder and data within a region destages to the backing store in thebacking store address order for addresses within a region.

In one embodiment, the log of the nonvolatile solid-state cache includesmultiple append points for writing cached data. The multiple appendpoints, in a further embodiment, include at least one append point forwriting dirty data and at least one append point for writing clean data.Dirty data, in one embodiment, includes write data that has not beendestaged to the backing store. Clean data, in one embodiment, includesdata that is stored in the backing store.

Apparatuses to destage cached data are provided. A cache write module,in one embodiment, is configured to append data to a log of anonvolatile solid-state device. A log, in certain embodiments, comprisesa sequential, log-based structure. In a further embodiment, a destagemodule is configured to destage at least a portion of the data from thenonvolatile solid-state device to a backing store in a sequential,backing store address order.

The cache controller, in one embodiment, is configured to detect one ormore write requests to store data in the backing store. The cachecontroller, in another embodiment, is configured to send the writerequests to the storage controller of a nonvolatile solid-state storagedevice. The storage controller, in one embodiment, receives the writerequests and caches the data associated with the write requests in thenonvolatile solid-state storage device by appending the data to a log ofthe nonvolatile solid-state storage device. In one embodiment, the logincludes a sequential, log-based structure preserved in the nonvolatilesolid-state storage device. The cache controller, in another embodiment,is configured to receive at least a portion of the data from the storagecontroller in a cache log order. In a further embodiment, the cachecontroller is configured to destage the data to the backing store in thecache log order. The cache log order, in one embodiment, includes anorder in which the data was appended to the log of the nonvolatilesolid-state storage device.

In one embodiment, the cache controller is configured to receive atleast a portion of the data from the storage controller in a sequentialbacking store address order. The cache controller, in anotherembodiment, is configured to destage the data to the backing store inthe sequential backing store address order. In a further embodiment, thecache controller is configured to determine a destaging pressure for thenonvolatile solid-state cache. The destaging pressure, in oneembodiment, includes a level of demand for destaging cached data of thenonvolatile solid-state cache. The cache controller, in anotherembodiment, is configured to request the data from the storagecontroller in the sequential backing store address order in response tothe destaging pressure satisfying a predefined destaging pressurecriteria.

In one embodiment, the cache controller interfaces with the backingstore controller of the backing store to destage the data to the backingstore. The cache controller, the storage controller, and the backingstore controller, in a certain embodiment, each include a device driverexecuting on a host computer system.

A system of the present invention is also presented to destage cacheddata. The system may be embodied by a processor, a nonvolatilesolid-state storage device, a backing store, one or more communicationbuses, a cache controller, and a storage controller. In particular, thesystem, in one embodiment, includes a host computer system.

In one embodiment, the nonvolatile solid-state storage device preservesa log. The log, in one embodiment, includes a sequential, log-basedstructure. The nonvolatile solid-state storage device and the backingstore, in a further embodiment, are m communication with the processorover the one or more communication buses.

In one embodiment, the cache controller is in communication with thebacking store. The cache controller, in another embodiment, isconfigured to detect one or more write requests to store data in thebacking store. In a further embodiment, the cache controller isconfigured to send the write requests to the storage controller for thenonvolatile solid-state storage device. The storage controller, in oneembodiment, receives the write requests and caches the data associatedwith the write requests in the nonvolatile solid-state storage device.The storage controller, in a further embodiment, caches the data byappending the data to the log of the nonvolatile solid-state storagedevice.

The cache controller, in one embodiment, is configured to receive atleast a portion of the data from the storage controller in a cache logorder. In another embodiment, the cache controller is configured todestage the data to the backing store in the cache log order. The cachelog order, in one embodiment, includes an order in which the data wasappended to the log of the nonvolatile solid-state storage device. Inanother embodiment, the cache controller is configured to receive atleast a portion of the data from the storage controller in a sequentialbacking store address order. The cache controller, in a furtherembodiment, is configured to destage the data to the backing store inthe sequential backing store address order.

Computer program products are presented. In one embodiment, a computerprogram product includes a computer readable storage media storingcomputer usable program code executable to perform operations fordestaging cached data. An operation, in certain embodiments, includesdestaging a portion of data from a cache to a backing store in a cachelog order in which the data was appended to a sequential log of thecache. In a further embodiment, an operation includes destaging aportion of data from a cache to a backing store in a sequential backingstore address order. In another embodiment, an operation includesadjusting a destaging rate to satisfy a destaging pressure.

References throughout this specification to features, advantages, orsimilar language do not imply that all of the features and advantagesmay be realized in any single embodiment. Rather, language referring tothe features and advantages is understood to mean that a specificfeature, advantage, or characteristic is included in at least oneembodiment. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similarlanguage, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily,refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics ofthe embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner. One skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that the embodiments may be practicedwithout one or more of the specific features or advantages of aparticular embodiment. In other instances, additional features andadvantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not bepresent in all embodiments.

These features and advantages of the embodiments will become more fullyapparent from the following description and appended claims, or may belearned by the practice of embodiments as set forth hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the advantages of the invention will be readilyunderstood, a more particular description of the invention brieflydescribed above will be rendered by reference to specific embodimentsthat are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are nottherefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the inventionwill be described and explained with additional specificity and detailthrough the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asystem for destaging cached data in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 1B is a schematic block diagram illustrating another embodiment ofa system for destaging cached data in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asolid-state storage device controller in a cache device in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of asolid-state storage controller with a write data pipeline and a readdata pipeline in a solid-state storage device in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of abank interleave controller in the solid-state storage controller inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of ahost device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of adirect cache module in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating another embodiment of adirect cache module in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of aforward map and a reverse map in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of amapping structure, a logical address space of a cache, a sequential,log-based, append-only writing structure, and an address space of astorage device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment ofaddress order destaging and log order destaging in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment ofa method for destaging cached data in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic flow chart diagram illustrating anotherembodiment of a method for destaging cached data in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment ofa method for log order destaging in accordance with the presentinvention; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment ofa method for address order destaging in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Many of the functional units described in this specification have beenlabeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize theirimplementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented asa hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays,off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or otherdiscrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmablehardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmablearray logic, programmable logic devices or the like.

Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by varioustypes of processors. An identified module of computer readable programcode may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocksof computer instructions which may, for instance, be organized as anobject, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of anidentified module need not be physically located together, but maycomprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which,when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve thestated purpose for the module.

Indeed, a module of computer readable program code may be a singleinstruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed overseveral different code segments, among different programs, and acrossseveral memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identifiedand illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in anysuitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure.The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may bedistributed over different locations including over different storagedevices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signalson a system or network. Where a module or portions of a module areimplemented in software, the computer readable program code may bestored and/or propagated on or in one or more computer readablemedium(s).

The computer readable medium may be a tangible computer readable storagemedium storing the computer readable program code. The computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, holographic,micromechanical, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing.

More specific examples of the computer readable medium may include butare not limited to a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a randomaccess memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a portable compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc (DVD), an opticalstorage device, a magnetic storage device, a holographic storage medium,a micromechanical storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, and/or storecomputer readable program code for use by and/or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The computer readable medium may also be a computer readable signalmedium. A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated datasignal with computer readable program code embodied therein, forexample, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagatedsignal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limitedto, electrical, electro-magnetic, magnetic, optical, or any suitablecombination thereof A computer readable signal medium may be anycomputer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage mediumand that can communicate, propagate, or transport computer readableprogram code for use by or in connection with an instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device. Computer readable program code embodied ona computer readable signal medium may be transmitted using anyappropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, Radio Frequency (RF), or the like, or any suitablecombination of the foregoing. In one embodiment, the computer readablemedium may comprise a combination of one or more computer readablestorage mediums and one or more computer readable signal mediums. Forexample, computer readable program code may be both propagated as anelectro-magnetic signal through a fiber optic cable for execution by aprocessor and stored on RAM storage device for execution by theprocessor.

Computer readable program code for carrying out operations for aspectsof the present invention may be written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languageor similar programming languages. The computer readable program code mayexecute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer,as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer andpartly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer orserver. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected tothe user's computer through any type of network, including a local areanetwork (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may bemade to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using anInternet Service Provider).

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases“in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughoutthis specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the sameembodiment, but mean “one or more but not all embodiments” unlessexpressly specified otherwise. The terms “including,” “comprising,”“having,” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to,”unless expressly specified otherwise. An enumerated listing of itemsdoes not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive,unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “a,” “an,” and “the”also refer to “one or more” unless expressly specified otherwise.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics ofthe embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner. In the followingdescription, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples ofprogramming, software modules, user selections, network transactions,database queries, database structures, hardware modules, hardwarecircuits, hardware chips, etc., to provide a thorough understanding ofembodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however,that embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. Inother instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are notshown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of anembodiment.

Aspects of the embodiments are described below with reference toschematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams of methods,apparatuses, systems, and computer program products according toembodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block ofthe schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams, andcombinations of blocks in the schematic flowchart diagrams and/orschematic block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readableprogram code. These computer readable program code may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer,sequencer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce amachine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor ofthe computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, createmeans for implementing the functions/acts specified in the schematicflowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams block or blocks

The computer readable program code may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the schematic flowchart diagramsand/or schematic block diagrams block or blocks.

The computer readable program code may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the program code which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The schematic flowchart diagrams and/or schematic block diagrams in theFigures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation ofpossible implementations of apparatuses, systems, methods and computerprogram products according to various embodiments of the presentinvention. In this regard, each block in the schematic flowchartdiagrams and/or schematic block diagrams may represent a module,segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executableinstructions of the program code for implementing the specified logicalfunction(s).

It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in theFigures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, beexecuted substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved. Other steps and methods may be conceived that are equivalentin function, logic, or effect to one or more blocks, or portionsthereof, of the illustrated Figures.

Although various arrow types and line types may be employed in theflowchart and/or block diagrams, they are understood not to limit thescope of the corresponding embodiments. Indeed, some arrows or otherconnectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of the depictedembodiment. For instance, an arrow may indicate a waiting or monitoringperiod of unspecified duration between enumerated steps of the depictedembodiment. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagramsand/or flowchart diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the blockdiagrams and/or flowchart diagrams, can be implemented by specialpurpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions oracts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer readableprogram code.

Caching System

FIG. 1A depicts one embodiment of a system 100 for destaging cached datain accordance with the present invention. The system 100, in thedepicted embodiment, includes a cache 102 a host device 114, a directcache module 116, and a backing store 118. The cache 102, in thedepicted embodiment, includes a solid-state storage controller 104, awrite data pipeline 106, a read data pipeline 108, and a solid-statestorage media 110. In general, the system 100 caches data for thebacking store 118 in the cache 102 and the direct cache module 116destages or writes cached data from the cache 102 to the backing store118.

In the depicted embodiment, the system 100 includes a single cache 102.In another embodiment, the system 100 may include two or more caches102. For example, in various embodiments, the system 100 may mirrorcached data between several caches 102, may virtually stripe cached dataacross multiple caches 102, or otherwise cache data in more than onecache 102. In general, the cache 102 serves as a read and/or a writecache for the backing store 118 and the backing store 118 is a storagedevice that serves as a backing store or the cache 102. In oneembodiment, the cache 102 operates in a write-back mode and the directcache module 116 destages cached write data to the backing store 118opportunistically after caching the write data in the cache 102. Incertain embodiments, the cache 102 may operate, at least temporarily, inanother mode, such as a write-back mode, a write-around mode, or thelike, and the direct cache module 116 may write data to the backingstore 118 substantially simultaneously with caching the data in thecache 102 or without caching the data in the cache 102. The direct cachemodule 116 destages data from the cache 102 to the backing store 118 topersist the data in the backing store 118. The direct cache module 116,in one embodiment, destages dirty write data that the backing store 118does not yet store to clean the data. Destaging the dirty write data tothe backing store 118 converts the state of the dirt write data fromdirty to clean data.

In the depicted embodiment, the cache 102 is embodied by a non-volatile,solid-state storage device, with a solid-state storage controller 104and non-volatile, solid-state storage media 110. The non-volatile,solid-state storage media 110 may include flash memory, nano randomaccess memory (“nano RAM or NRAM”), magneto-resistive RAM (“MRAM”),dynamic RAM (“DRAM”), phase change RAM (“PRAM”), racetrack memory,memristor memory, nanocrystal wire-based memory, silicon-oxide basedsub-10 nanometer process memory, graphene memory,silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (“SON OS”) memory, resistiverandom-access memory (“RRAM”), programmable metallization cell (“PMC”),conductive-bridging RAM (“CBRAM”), or the like. Embodiments of the cache102 that include a solid-state storage controller 104 and solid-statestorage media 110 are described in more detail with respect to FIGS. 2and 3. In further embodiments, the cache 102 may include other types ofnon-volatile and/or volatile data storage, such as dynamic RAM (“DRAM”),static RAM (“SRAM”), magnetic data storage, optical data storage, and/orother data storage technologies.

The cache 102, in one embodiment, stores or preserves data in a log. Thelog, in a further embodiment, comprises a sequential, append-onlylog-based structure, or the like. The cache 102 stores at least aportion of the log on the solid-state storage media 110. The cache 102,in certain embodiments, may store a portion of the log, metadata for thelog, or the like in volatile memory, such as RAM, and may store at leastenough data of the log in the solid-state storage media 110 to recreatethe log structure after an improper shutdown or other failure.

In one embodiment, the log includes a head at an append point and a tailat an end of the log with the oldest data (data written earliest intime). In certain embodiments, the log may include multiple appendpoints, multiple sub-logs, or the like. In a further embodiment, thecache 102 may store or preserve data in multiple logs. The direct cachemodule 116, in one embodiment, destages data from the cache 102 in acache log order. A cache log order, as used herein, is an order in whichdata was appended to (or is organized within) the log of the cache 102.The cache log order may be from older data toward newer data (e.g., tailto head order), from newer data toward older data (e.g., head to tailorder), or the like.

In one embodiment, destaging in a tail to head cache log order mayreduce write amplification by destaging older data that is more likelyto be stored in a region that is a candidate for grooming/garbagecollection. Write amplification is the rewriting or moving of dataduring a grooming or garbage collection process, causing data originallywritten in response to a user write request to be written more thanonce. Write amplification can increase the number of writes of a storagedevice, consume write bandwidth of a storage device, reduce a usablelifetime of a storage device, and otherwise reduce performance of astorage device. Once the direct cache module 116 has destaged dirtywrite data to the backing store 118, the data is clean and the directcache module 116 may selectively clear, invalidate, and/or evict thedata, which is now clean, from the cache 102, instead of writing thedata forward during a grooming/garbage collection operation.

In general, the cache 102 caches data for the backing store 118. Thebacking store 118, in one embodiment, is a backing store associated withthe cache 102 and/or with the direct cache module 116. The backing store118 may include a hard disk drive, an optical drive with optical media,a magnetic tape drive, or another type of storage device. In oneembodiment, the backing store 118 may have a greater data storagecapacity than the cache 102. In another embodiment, the backing store118 may have a higher latency, a lower throughput, or the like, than thecache 102.

The backing store 118 may have a higher latency, a lower throughput, orthe like due to properties of the backing store 118 itself, or due toproperties of a connection to the backing store 118. For example, in oneembodiment, the cache 102 and the backing store 118 may each includenon-volatile, solid-state storage media 110 with similar properties, butthe backing store 118 may be in communication with the host device 114over a data network, while the cache 102 may be directly connected tothe host device 114, causing the backing store 118 to have a higherlatency relative to the host 114 than the cache 102.

In one embodiment, the backing store 118 stores data more quickly and/ormore efficiently when the backing store 118 receives the data in asequential, backing store address order than when the backing store 118receives the data out of order. In a further embodiment, the backingstore 118 has a higher write rate writing data in a backing storeaddress order than when writing data out of backing store address order.For example, in certain embodiments, the backing store 118 may include amagnetic or optical read/write head and may incur a seek time frommoving the head between out of order addresses. The backing store, inone embodiment, may incur little or no seek time when writing data thatis sequentially ordered by backing store address.

Data in a backing store address order, in one embodiment, includes arange of data that is ordered by a logical or physical address of thedata, in either increasing or decreasing order. The logical or physicaladdress of the data, in a further embodiment, is an address associatedwith the backing store 118. In one embodiment, a range of data inbacking store address order includes a continuous, unbroken range ofdata with consecutive backing store addresses. In another embodiment, arange of data in backing store address order may have one or more holesor gaps, with missing addresses, such that the backing store addressesof the range of data are ordered, but may not necessarily beconsecutive.

As described above, in one embodiment, the direct cache module 116destages data from the cache 102 to the backing store 118 in a cache logorder. In another embodiment, the direct cache module 116 destages datafrom the cache 102 to the backing store 118 in a sequential backingstore address order. In a further embodiment, the direct cache module116 destages data from the cache 102 in both a cache log order and abacking store address order.

In certain embodiments, the direct cache module 116 can provide a higherdestage rate destaging data in a sequential backing store address orderthan in a cache log order, due to more efficient write rates of thebacking store 118, or the like. The direct cache module 116, in otherembodiments, can destage data more efficiently for the cache 102 in acache log order, as described above. The direct cache module 116, in oneembodiment, balances destaging in cache log order and in backing storeaddress order.

In various embodiments, the direct cache module 116 may destage data inboth a cache log order and a backing store address order in parallel, byalternating between a cache log order and a backing store address order,or the like. The direct cache module 116, in one embodiment, determinesa ratio, duty cycle, or the like defining an amount of data to destagein cache log order and an amount of data to destage in backing storeaddress order. In a further embodiment, the direct cache module 116destages data in a backing store address order in response to adestaging rate of log order destaging failing to satisfy a targetdestage rate, or the like. For example, the direct cache module 116 maybalance destaging orders to satisfy a destaging pressure or a targetdestage rate, to maximize destaging efficiency of the cache 102, or thelike.

In one embodiment, the direct cache module 116 destages dirty data fromthe cache 102 to the backing store 118 in an order that favors operationof the cache 102, the order selected such that cache operation is moreefficient following destaging. One example of an order that favorsoperation of the cache 102 is cache log order destaging in the sameorder in which the data was appended to the log of the cache 102. Logordered destaging is one embodiment of an elevator algorithm. The directcache module 116 may use other kinds of elevator algorithms that mayproduce higher destage rates and still favor operation of the cache 102.

In one embodiment, the direct cache module 116 destages dirty data fromthe cache 102 to the backing store 118 in an order that favors operationof the backing store, the order selected such that backing storeoperation is more efficient during and/or following the destaging. Oneexample of an order that favors operation of the backing store isdestaging in a sequential backing store address order.

In one embodiment, the direct cache module 116 destages dirty data fromthe cache 102 to the backing store 118 in an order that favorsmanagement of the nonvolatile solid-state storage media, the orderselected such that management of the nonvolatile solid-state storagemedia is more efficient following the destaging. For example, the directcache module 116 may destage first a region of the cache 102, such as anerase block, with the least amount of dirty data or may destage first aregion of the cache 102, such as an erase block, that will have thelowest grooming cost once the region is cleaned. In one embodiment, thedirect cache module 116 may destage data from the cache 102 in an orderbased on the amount of dirty data (for example the least dirty data mayhave a lowest cost and may have the highest likelihood of being groomednext). For logical erase blocks (“LEBs”) or other regions not in the hotzone (i.e. at least X LEBS from an append point of the log) the amountof dirty data then, in certain embodiments, may be a dominant factor indetermining destaging order. In another embodiment, the direct cachemodule 116 may destage data from the cache 102 in an order of the LEBsbased on the cost to groom the LEB if only the LEB were clean (so theLEB is known to have dirty data)—assuming the LEB was all clean. In thisembodiment, the direct cache module 116 may then order destaging in amanner that gets a next best grooming candidate ready the fastest.

The direct cache module 116, in one embodiment, may use a combination ofseveral destaging orders or destaging order algorithms and/or mayalternate between destaging orders to favor operation of the cache 102,to favor operation of the backing store, and/or to favor operation ofthe solid-state storage media 110 to various degrees or at varioustimes. In other embodiments, the direct cache module 116 may use asingle destaging order, or the like.

In one embodiment, the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 are incommunication with a processor of the host device 114 over one or morecommunications buses. In the depicted embodiment, the cache 102 and thebacking store 118 are in communication with the host device 114 throughthe direct cache module 116. The cache 102 and/or the backing store 118,in one embodiment, may be direct attached storage (“DAS”) of the hostdevice 114. DAS, as used herein, is data storage that is connected to adevice, either internally or externally, without a storage network inbetween.

In one embodiment, the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 areinternal to the host device 114 and are connected using a system bus,such as a peripheral component interconnect express (“PCI-e”) bus, aSerial Advanced Technology Attachment (“SATA”) bus, or the like. Inanother embodiment, the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 may beexternal to the host device 114 and may be connected using a universalserial bus (“USB”) connection, an Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (“IEEE”) 1394 bus (“Fire Wire”), an external SATA(“eSATA”) connection, or the like. In other embodiments, the cache 102and/or the backing store 118 may be connected to the host device 114using a peripheral component interconnect (“PCI”) express bus usingexternal electrical or optical bus extension or bus networking solutionsuch as Infiniband or PCI Express Advanced Switching (“PCIe-AS”), or thelike.

In various embodiments, the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 maybe in the form of a dual-inline memory module (“DIMM”), a daughter card,or a micro-module. In another embodiment, the cache 102 and/or thebacking store 118 may be elements within a rack-mounted blade. Inanother embodiment, the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 may becontained within packages that are integrated directly onto a higherlevel assembly (e.g. mother board, lap top, graphics processor). Inanother embodiment, individual components comprising the cache 102and/or the backing store 118 are integrated directly onto a higher levelassembly without intermediate packaging.

In the depicted embodiment, the cache 102 includes one or moresolid-state storage controllers 104 with a write data pipeline 106 and aread data pipeline 108, and a solid-state storage media 110, which aredescribed in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3. Thebacking store 118, in the depicted embodiment, includes a backing storecontroller 120. The solid-state storage controller 104 and the backingstore controller

120, in certain embodiments, may receive storage requests, performmanagement functions and the like for the cache 102 and the backingstore 118, or perform other functions. The solid-state storagecontroller 104 and/or the backing store controller 120, in variousembodiments, may comprise one or more device drivers installed on thehost device 114, logic hardware or firmware of the cache 102 and/or thebacking store 118, a combination of one or more device drivers and logichardware or firmware, or the like.

In a further embodiment, instead of being connected directly to the hostdevice 114 as DAS, the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 may beconnected to the host device 114 over a data network. For example, thecache 102 and/or the backing store 118 may include a storage areanetwork (“SAN”) storage device, a network attached storage (“NAS”)device, a network share, or the like. In one embodiment, the system 100may include a data network, such as the Internet, a wide area network(“WAN”), a metropolitan area network (“MAN”), a local area network(“LAN”), a token ring, a wireless network, a fiber channel network, aSAN, a NAS, ESCON, or the like, or any combination of networks. A datanetwork may also include a network from the IEEE 802 family of networktechnologies, such Ethernet, token ring, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, and the like. Adata network may include servers, switches, routers, cabling, radios,and other equipment used to facilitate networking between the hostdevice 114 and the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118.

In one embodiment, at least the cache 102 is connected directly to thehost device 114 as a DAS device. In a further embodiment, the cache 102is directly connected to the host device 114 as a DAS device and thebacking store 118 is directly connected to the cache 102. For example,the cache 102 may be connected directly to the host device 114, and thebacking store 118 may be connected directly to the cache 102 using adirect, wire-line connection, such as a PCI express bus, an SATA bus, aUSB connection, an IEEE 1394 connection, an eSATA connection, aproprietary direct connection, an external electrical or optical busextension or bus networking solution such as Infiniband or PCIe-AS, orthe like. One of skill in the art, in light of this disclosure, willrecognize other arrangements and configurations of the host device 114,the cache 102, and the backing store 118 suitable for use in the system100.

The system 100 includes the host device 114 in communication with thecache 102 and the backing store 118 through the direct cache module 116.A host device 114 may be a host, a server, a storage controller of aSAN, a workstation, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a handheldcomputer, a supercomputer, a computer cluster, a network switch, router,or appliance, a database or storage appliance, a data acquisition ordata capture system, a diagnostic system, a test system, a robot, aportable electronic device, a wireless device, or the like.

In the depicted embodiment, the host device 114 is in communication withthe direct cache module 116. The direct cache module 116, in general,receives or otherwise detects read and write requests from the hostdevice 114 directed to the backing store 118 and manages the caching ofdata in the cache 102 and destaging of cached data to the backing store118. In one embodiment, the direct cache module 116 comprises a softwareapplication, file system filter driver, combination of filter drivers,or the like on the host device 114.

In another embodiment, the direct cache module 116 comprises one or morestorage controllers, such as the solid-state storage controller 104 ofthe cache 102 and/or the backing store controller 120 of the backingstore 118. FIG. 1B depicts a system 101 that is substantially similar tothe system 100 of FIG. 1A, but with the storage controller 104 and thebacking store controller 120 integrated with the direct cache module 116as device drivers and/or filter drivers on the host device 114. Thestorage controller 104 and the backing store controller 120 may beintegrated with the direct cache module 116 as device drivers on thehost device 114, as dedicated hardware logic circuits or firmware of thecache 102 and/or the backing store 118, as a combination of one or moredevice drivers and dedicated hardware, or the like. In a furtherembodiment, the direct cache module 116 comprises a combination of oneor more software drivers of the host device 114 and one or more storagecontrollers, or the like. The direct cache module 116, in varioussoftware, hardware, and combined software and hardware embodiments, maygenerally be referred to as a cache controller.

In one embodiment, the host device 114 loads one or more device driversfor the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 and the direct cachemodule 116 communicates with the one or more device drivers on the hostdevice 114. As described above, in certain embodiments, the solid-statestorage controller 104 of the cache 102 and/or the backing storecontroller 120 may comprise device drivers on the host device 114. Inanother embodiment, the direct cache module 116 may communicate directlywith a hardware interface of the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118.In a further embodiment, the direct cache module 116 may be integratedwith the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118.

In one embodiment, the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 have blockdevice interfaces that support block device commands. For example, thecache 102 and/or the backing store 118 may support the standard blockdevice interface, the A TA interface standard, the ATA Packet Interface(“ATAPI”) standard, the small computer system interface (“SCSI”)standard, and/or the Fibre Channel standard which are maintained by theInterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (“INCITS”).The direct cache module 116 may interact with the cache 102 and/or thebacking store 118 using block device commands to read, write, and clear(or trim) data. In one embodiment, the solid-state storage controller104 and/or the backing store controller 120 provide block deviceinterfaces to the direct cache module 116.

In one embodiment, the direct cache module 116 serves as a proxy for thebacking store 118, receiving read and write requests for the backingstore 118 directly from the host device 114. The direct cache module 116may represent itself to the host device 114 as a storage device having acapacity similar to and/or matching the capacity of the backing store118. The direct cache module 116, upon receiving a read request or writerequest from the host device 114, in one embodiment, fulfills therequest by caching write data in the cache 102 or by retrieving readdata from one of the cache 102 and the backing store 118 and returningthe read data to the host device 114.

Data caches are typically organized into cache lines which divide up thephysical capacity of the cache, these cache lines may be divided intoseveral sets. A cache line is typically larger than a block or sector ofa backing store associated with a data cache, to provide for prefetchingof additional blocks or sectors and to reduce cache misses and increasethe cache hit rate. Data caches also typically evict an entire, fixedsize, cache line at a time to make room for newly requested data insatisfying a cache miss. Data caches may be direct mapped, fullyassociative, N-way set associative, or the like.

In a direct mapped cache, each block or sector of a backing store has aone-to-one mapping to a cache line in the direct mapped cache. Forexample, if a direct mapped cache has T number of cache lines, thebacking store associated with the direct mapped cache may be dividedinto T sections, and the direct mapped cache caches data from a sectionexclusively in the cache line corresponding to the section. Because adirect mapped cache always caches a block or sector in the same locationor cache line, the mapping between a block or sector address and a cacheline can be a simple manipulation of an address of the block or sector.

In a fully associative cache, any cache line can store data from anyblock or sector of a backing store. A fully associative cache typicallyhas lower cache miss rates than a direct mapped cache, but has longerhit times (i.e., it takes longer to locate data in the cache) than adirect mapped cache. To locate data in a fully associative cache, eithercache tags of the entire cache can be searched, a separate cache indexcan be used, or the like.

In an N-way set associative cache, each sector or block of a backingstore may be cached in any of a set of N different cache lines. Forexample, in a 2-way set associative cache, either of two different cachelines may cache data for a sector or block. In an N-way set associativecache, both the cache and the backing store are typically divided intosections or sets, with one or more sets of sectors or blocks of thebacking store assigned to a set of N cache lines. To locate data in anN-way set associative cache, a block or sector address is typicallymapped to a set of cache lines, and cache tags of the set of cache linesare searched, a separate cache index is searched, or the like todetermine which cache line in the set is storing data for the block orsector. An N-way set associative cache typically has miss rates and hitrates between those of a direct mapped cache and those of a fullyassociative cache.

The cache 102, in one embodiment, may have characteristics of both adirectly

mapped cache and a fully associative cache. A logical address space ofthe cache 102, in one embodiment, is directly mapped to an address spaceof the backing store 118 while the physical storage media 110 of thecache 102 is fully associative with regard to the backing store 118. Inother words, each block or sector of the backing store 118, in oneembodiment, is directly mapped to a single logical address of the cache102 while any portion of the physical storage media 110 of the cache 102may store data for any block or sector of the backing store 118. In oneembodiment, a logical address is an identifier of a block of data and isdistinct from a physical address of the block of data, but may be mappedto the physical address of the block of data. Examples of logicaladdresses, in various embodiments, include logical block addresses(“LBAs”), logical identifiers, object identifiers, pointers, references,and the like.

Instead of traditional cache lines, in one embodiment, the cache 102 haslogical or physical cache data blocks associated with logical addressesthat are equal in size to a block or sector of the backing store 118. Ina further embodiment, the cache 102 caches ranges and/or sets of rangesof blocks or sectors for the backing store 118 at a time, providingdynamic or variable length cache line functionality. A range or set ofranges of blocks or sectors, in a further embodiment, may include amixture of contiguous and/or noncontiguous blocks. For example, thecache 102, in one embodiment, supports block device requests thatinclude a mixture of contiguous and/or noncontiguous blocks and that mayinclude “holes” or intervening blocks that the cache 102 does not cacheor otherwise store.

In one embodiment, one or more groups of logical addresses of the cache102 are directly mapped to corresponding logical addresses of thebacking store 118. Directly mapping logical addresses of the cache 102to logical addresses of the backing store 118, in one embodiment,provides a one-to-one relationship between the logical addresses of thebacking store 118 and the logical addresses of the cache 102. Directlymapping logical addresses of the cache 102 to the logical or physicaladdress space of the backing store 118, in one embodiment, precludes theuse of an extra translation layer in the direct cache module 116, suchas the use of cache tags, a cache index, the maintenance of atranslation data structure, or the like. In one embodiment, while thelogical address space of the cache 102 may be larger than a logicaladdress space of the backing store 118, both logical address spacesinclude at least logical addresses 0-N. In a further embodiment, atleast a portion of the logical address space of the cache 102 representsor appears as the logical address space of the backing store 118 to aclient, such as the host device 114.

Alternatively, in certain embodiments where physical blocks or sectorsof the backing store 118 are directly accessible using physicaladdresses, at least a portion of logical addresses in a logical addressspace of the cache 102 may be mapped to physical addresses of thebacking store 118. At least a portion of the logical address space ofthe cache 102, in one embodiment, may correspond to the physical addressspace of the backing store 118. At least a subset of the logicaladdresses of the cache 102, in this embodiment, is directly mapped tocorresponding physical addresses of the backing store 118.

In one embodiment, the logical address space of the cache 102 is asparse address space that is either as large as or is larger than thephysical storage capacity of the cache 102. This allows the backingstore 118 to have a larger storage capacity than the cache 102, whilemaintaining a direct mapping between the logical addresses of the cache102 and logical or physical addresses of the backing store 118. Thesparse logical address space may be thinly provisioned, in oneembodiment. In a further embodiment, as the direct cache module 116writes data to the cache 102 using logical addresses, the cache 102directly maps the logical addresses to distinct physical addresses orlocations on the solid-state storage media 110 of the cache 102, suchthat the physical addresses or locations of data on the solid-statestorage media 110 are fully associative with the backing store 118.

In one embodiment, the direct cache module 116 and/or the cache 102 usethe same mapping structure to map addresses (either logical or physical)of the backing store 118 to logical addresses of the cache 102 and tomap logical addresses of the cache 102 to locations/physical addressesof a block or sector (or range of blocks or sectors) on the physicalsolid-state storage media 110. In one embodiment, using a single mappingstructure for both functions eliminates the need for a separate cachemap, cache index, cache tags, or the like, decreasing access times ofthe cache 102. In a further embodiment, the direct cache module 116 usesthe same mapping structure that maps logical addresses of the cache 102to locations on the physical solid-state storage media 110 to locateranges of data to destage in a backing store address order.

Once the direct cache module 116 has destaged dirty data from the cache102, the data is clean and the direct cache module 116 may clear, trim,replace, expire, and/or evict the data from the cache 102 and thephysical addresses and associated physical storage media 110 may befreed to store data for other logical addresses. In one embodiment, asdescribed above, the solid state storage controller 104 stores data atphysical addresses using a log-based, append-only writing structure suchthat data evicted from the cache 102 or overwritten by a subsequentwrite request invalidates other data in the log. Consequently, a garbagecollection or grooming process recovers the physical capacity of theinvalid data in the log. One embodiment of the log-based, append onlywriting structure is logically ring-like data structure, as new data isappended to the log-based writing structure, previously used physicalcapacity is reused in a circular, theoretically infinite manner.

Solid-State Storage Device

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment 201 of asolid-state storage device controller 202 that includes a write datapipeline 106 and a read data pipeline 108 in a cache 102 in accordancewith the present invention. The solid-state storage device controller202 may be embodied as hardware, as software, or as a combination ofhardware and software.

The solid-state storage device controller 202 may include a number ofsolid-state storage controllers 0-N 104 a-n, each controllingsolid-state storage media 110. In the depicted embodiment, twosolid-state controllers are shown: solid-state controller 0 104 a andsolid-state storage controller N 104 n, and each controls solid-statestorage media 110 a-n. In the depicted embodiment, solid-state storagecontroller O 104 a controls a data channel so that the attachedsolid-state storage media 111 a stores data. Solid-state storagecontroller N 104 n controls an index metadata channel associated withthe stored data and the associated solid-state storage media 110 n,stores index metadata. In an alternate embodiment, the solid-statestorage device controller 202 includes a single solid-state controller104 a with a single solid-state storage media 110 a. In anotherembodiment, there are a plurality of solid-state storage controllers 104a-n and associated solid-state storage media 110 a-n. In one embodiment,one or more solid-state controllers 104 a-104 n-1, coupled to theirassociated solid-state storage media 110 a-110 n-1, control data whileat least one solid-state storage controller 104 n, coupled to itsassociated solid-state storage media 110 n, controls index metadata.

In one embodiment, at least one solid-state controller 104 isfield-programmable gate array (“FPGA”) and controller functions areprogrammed into the FPGA. In a particular embodiment, the FPGA is aXilinx® FPGA. In another embodiment, the solid-state storage controller104 comprises components specifically designed as a solid-state storagecontroller 104, such as an application-specific integrated circuit(“ASIC”) or custom logic solution. Each solid-state storage controller104 typically includes a write data pipeline 106 and a read datapipeline 108, which are describe further in relation to FIG. 3. Inanother embodiment, at least one solid-state storage controller 104 ismade up of a combination FPGA, ASIC, and custom logic components.

Solid-State Storage

The solid-state storage media 110 is an array of non-volatilesolid-state storage elements 216, 218, 220, arranged in banks 214, andaccessed in parallel through a bi-directional storage input/output(“I/O”) bus 210. The storage I/O bus 210, in one embodiment, is capableof unidirectional communication at any one time. For example, when datais being written to the solid-state storage media 110, data cannot beread from the solid-state storage media 110. In another embodiment, datacan flow both directions simultaneously. However bi-directional, as usedherein with respect to a data bus, refers to a data pathway that canhave data flowing in only one direction at a time, but when data flowingone direction on the bi-directional data bus is stopped, data can flowin the opposite direction on the bi-directional data bus.

A solid-state storage element (e.g. SSS 0.0 216 a) is typicallyconfigured as a chip (a package of one or more dies) or a die on acircuit board. As depicted, a solid-state storage element (e.g. 216 a)operates independently or semi-independently of other solid-statestorage elements (e.g. 218 a) even if these several elements arepackaged together in a chip package, a stack of chip packages, or someother package element. As depicted, a column of solid-state storageelements 216, 218, 220 is designated as a bank 214. As depicted, theremay be “n” banks 214 a-n and “m” solid-state storage elements 216 a-m,218 a-m, 220 a-m per bank in an array of n×m solid-state storageelements 216, 218, 220 in a solid-state storage media 110. In oneembodiment, a solid-state storage media 110 a includes twentysolid-state storage elements per bank (e.g. 216 a-m in bank 214 a, 218a-min bank 214 b, 220 a-min bank 214 n, where m=22) with eight banks(e.g. 214 a-n where n==8) and a solid-state storage media 110 n includestwo solid-state storage elements (e.g. 216 a-m where m=2) per bank 214with one bank 214 a. There is no requirement that two solid-statestorage media 110 a, 110 n have the same number of solid-state storageelements and/or same number of banks 214. In one embodiment, eachsolid-state storage element 216, 218, 220 is comprised of a single-levelcell (“SLC”) devices. In another embodiment, each solid-state storageelement 216, 218, 220 is comprised of multi-level cell (“MLC”) devices.

In one embodiment, solid-state storage elements for multiple banks thatshare a common storage I/O bus 210 a row (e.g. 216 b, 218 b, 220 b) arepackaged together. In one embodiment, a solid-state storage element 216,218, 220 may have one or more dies per chip with one or more chipsstacked vertically and each die may be accessed independently. Inanother embodiment, a solid-state storage element (e.g. SSS 0.0 216 a)may have one or more virtual dies per die and one or more dies per chipand one or more chips stacked vertically and each virtual die may beaccessed independently. In another embodiment, a solid-state storageelement SSS 0.0 216 a may have one or more virtual dies per die and oneor more dies per chip with some or all of the one or more dies stackedvertically and each virtual die may be accessed independently.

In one embodiment, two dies are stacked vertically with four stacks pergroup to form eight storage elements (e.g. SSS 0.0-SSS 0.8) 216 a-220 a,each in a separate bank 214 a-n. In another embodiment, 20 storageelements (e.g. SSS 0.0-SSS 20.0) 216 form a virtual bank 214 a so thateach of the eight virtual banks has 20 storage elements (e.g. SSS0.0-SSS20.8). Data is sent to the solid-state storage media 110 over thestorage I/O bus 210 to all storage elements of a particular group ofstorage elements (SSS 0.0-SSS 0.8) 216 a, 218 a, 220 a. The storagecontrol bus 212 a is used to select a particular bank (e.g. Bank-0 214a) so that the data received over the storage I/O bus 210 connected toall banks 214 is written just to the selected bank 214 a.

In certain embodiments, the storage control bus 212 and storage I/O bus210 are used together by the solid-state controller 104 to communicateaddressing information, storage element command information, and data tobe stored. Those of skill in the art recognize that this address, data,and command information may be communicated using one or the other ofthese buses 212, 210, or using separate buses for each type of controlinformation. In one embodiment, addressing information, storage elementcommand information, and storage data travel on the storage I/O bus 210and the storage control bus 212 carries signals for activating a bank aswell as identifying whether the data on the storage I/O bus 210 linesconstitute addressing information, storage element command information,or storage data.

For example, a control signal on the storage control bus 212 such as“command enable” may indicate that the data on the storage I/O bus 210lines is a storage element command such as program, erase, reset, read,and the like. A control signal on the storage control bus 212 such as“address enable” may indicate that the data on the storage I/O bus 210lines is addressing information such as erase block identifier, pageidentifier, and optionally offset within the page within a particularstorage element. Finally, an absence of a control signal on the storagecontrol bus 212 for both “command enable” and “address enable” mayindicate that the data on the storage I/O bus 210 lines is storage datathat is to be stored on the storage element at a previously addressederase block, physical page, and optionally offset within the page of aparticular storage element.

In one embodiment, the storage I/O bus 210 is comprised of one or moreindependent I/O buses (“IIOBa-m” comprising 210 a.a-m, 210 n.a-m)wherein the solid-state storage elements within each row share one ofthe independent I/O buses across each solid-state storage element 216,218, 220 in parallel so that all banks 214 are accessed simultaneously.For example, one IIOB 210 a.a of the storage I/O bus 210 may access afirst solid-state storage element 216 a, 218 a, 220 a of each bank 214a-n simultaneously. A second IIOB 210 a.b of the storage I/O bus 210 mayaccess a second solid-state storage element 216 b, 218 b, 220 b of eachbank 214 a-n simultaneously. Each row of solid-state storage elements216, 218, 220 is accessed simultaneously. In one embodiment, wheresolid-state storage elements 216, 218, 220 are multi-level (physicallystacked), all physical levels of the solid-state storage elements 216,218, 220 are accessed simultaneously. As used herein, “simultaneously”also includes near simultaneous access where devices are accessed atslightly different intervals to avoid switching noise. Simultaneously isused in this context to be distinguished from a sequential or serialaccess wherein commands and/or data are sent individually one after theother.

Typically, banks 214 a-n are independently selected using the storagecontrol bus 212. In one embodiment, a bank 214 is selected using a chipenable or chip select. Where both chip select and chip enable areavailable, the storage control bus 212 may select one level of amulti-level solid-state storage element 216, 218, 220 using either ofthe chip select signal and the chip enable signal. In other embodiments,other commands are used by the storage control bus 212 to individuallyselect one level of a multi-level solid-state storage element 216, 218,220. Solid-state storage elements 216, 218, 220 may also be selectedthrough a combination of control and of address information transmittedon storage I/O bus 210 and the storage control bus 212.

In one embodiment, each solid-state storage element 216, 218, 220 ispartitioned into erase blocks and each erase block is partitioned intopages. A typical page is 2000 bytes (“2 kB”). In one example, asolid-state storage element (e.g. SSS0.0) includes two registers and canprogram two pages so that a two-register solid-state storage element hasa page size of 4 kB. A single bank 214 a of 20 solid-state storageelements 216 a-m would then have an 80 kB capacity of pages accessedwith the same address going out of the storage I/O bus 210.

This group of pages in a bank 214 of solid-state storage elements 216,218, 220 of 80 kB may be called a logical or virtual page. Similarly, anerase block of each storage element 216 a-m of a bank 214 a may begrouped to form a logical erase block. In one embodiment, erasing alogical erase block causes a physical erase block (“PEB”) of eachstorage element 216 a-m of a bank 214 a to be erased. In one embodiment,an erase block of pages within a solid-state storage element 216, 218,220 is erased when an erase command is received within a solid-statestorage element 216, 218, 220. In another embodiment, a single physicalerase block on each storage element (e.g. SSS M.N) collectively forms alogical erase block for the solid-state storage media 110 a. In such anembodiment, erasing a logical erase block comprises erasing an eraseblock at the same address within each storage element (e.g. SSS M.N) inthe solid-state storage media 110 a. Whereas the size and number oferase blocks, pages, planes, or other logical and physical divisionswithin a solid-state storage element 216, 218, 220 may change over timewith advancements in technology, it is to be expected that manyembodiments consistent with new configurations are possible and areconsistent with the general description herein.

In one embodiment, data is written in packets to the storage elements.The solid-state controller 104 uses the storage I/O bus 210 and storagecontrol bus 212 to address a particular bank 214, storage element 216,218, 220, physical erase block, physical page, and optionally offsetwithin a physical page for writing the data packet. In one embodiment,the solid-state controller 104 sends the address information for thedata packet by way of the storage I/O bus 210 and signals that the dataon the storage I/O bus 210 is address data by way of particular signalsset on the storage control bus 212. The solid-state controller 104follows the transmission of the address information with transmission ofthe data packet of data that is to be stored. The physical addresscontains enough information for the solid-state storage element 216,218, 220 to direct the data packet to the designated location within thepage.

In one embodiment, the storage I/O bus 210 a.a connects to each storageelement in a row of storage elements (e.g. SSS 0.0-SSS O.N 216 a, 218 a,220 a). In such an embodiment, the solid-state controller 104 aactivates a desired bank 214 a using the storage control bus 212 a, suchthat data on storage I/O bus 210 a.a reaches the proper page of a singlestorage element (e.g. SSS 0.0 216 a).

In addition, in certain embodiments, the solid-state controller 104 asimultaneously activates the same bank 214 a using the storage controlbus 212 a, such that different data (a different data packet) on storageI/O bus 210 a. breaches the proper page of a single storage element onanother row (e.g. SSS 1.0 216 b). In this manner, multiple physicalpages of multiple storage elements 216, 218, 220 may be written tosimultaneously within a single bank 214 to store a logical page.

Similarly, a read command may require a command on the storage controlbus 212 to select a single bank 214 a and the appropriate page withinthat bank 214 a. In one embodiment, a read command reads an entirephysical page from each storage element, and because there are multiplesolid-state storage elements 216, 218, 220 in parallel in a bank 214, anentire logical page is read with a read command. However, the readcommand may be broken into subcommands, as will be explained below withrespect to bank interleave. A logical page may also be accessed in awrite operation.

In one embodiment, a solid-state controller 104 may send an erase blockerase command over all the lines of the storage I/O bus 210 to erase aphysical erase block having a particular erase block address. Inaddition, the solid-state controller 104 may simultaneously activate asingle bank 214 using the storage control bus 212 such that eachphysical erase block in the single activated bank 214 is erased as partof a logical erase block.

In another embodiment, the solid-state controller 104 may send an eraseblock erase command over all the lines of the storage I/O bus 210 toerase a physical erase block having a particular erase block address oneach storage element 216, 218, 220 (SSS 0.0-SSS M.N). These particularphysical erase blocks together may form a logical erase block. Once theaddress of the physical erase blocks is provided to the storage elements216, 218, 220, the solid-state controller 104 may initiate the erasecommand on a bank 214 a by bank 214 b by bank 214 n basis (either inorder or based on some other sequence). Other commands may also be sentto a particular location using a combination of the storage I/O bus 210and the storage control bus 212. One of skill in the art will recognizeother ways to select a particular storage location using thebi-directional storage I/O bus 210 and the storage control bus 212.

In one embodiment, the storage controller 104 sequentially writes dataon the solid-state storage media 110 in a log structured format andwithin one or more physical structures of the storage elements, the datais sequentially stored on the solid-state storage media 110.Sequentially writing data involves the storage controller 104 streamingdata packets into storage write buffers for storage elements, such as achip (a package of one or more dies) or a die on a circuit board. Whenthe storage write buffers are full, the data packets are programmed to adesignated virtual or logical page (“LP”). Data packets then refill thestorage write buffers and, when full, the data packets are written tothe next LP. The next virtual page may be in the same bank 214 a oranother bank (e.g. 214 b). This process continues, LP after LP,typically until a virtual or logical erase block (“LEB”) is filled. LPsand LEBs are described in more detail below.

In another embodiment, the streaming may continue across LEB boundarieswith the process continuing, LEB after LEB. Typically, the storagecontroller 104 sequentially stores data packets in an LEB by order ofprocessing. In one embodiment, where a write data pipeline 106 is used,the storage controller 104 stores packets in the order that they comeout of the write data pipeline 106. This order may be a result of datasegments arriving from a requesting device mixed with packets of validdata that are being read from another storage location as valid data isbeing recovered from another LEB during a recovery operation.

The sequentially stored data, in one embodiment, can serve as a log toreconstruct data indexes and other metadata using information from datapacket headers. For example, in one embodiment, the storage controller104 may reconstruct a storage index by reading headers to determine thedata structure to which each packet belongs and sequence information todetermine where in the data structure the data or metadata belongs. Thestorage controller 104, in one embodiment, uses physical addressinformation for each packet and timestamp or sequence information tocreate a mapping between the physical locations of the packets and thedata structure identifier and data segment sequence. Timestamp orsequence information is used by the storage controller 104 to replay thesequence of changes made to the index and thereby reestablish the mostrecent state.

In one embodiment, erase blocks are time stamped or given a sequencenumber as packets are written and the timestamp or sequence informationof an erase block is used along with information gathered from containerheaders and packet headers to reconstruct the storage index. In anotherembodiment, timestamp or sequence information is written to an eraseblock when the erase block is recovered.

In a read, modify, write operation, data packets associated with thelogical structure are located and read in a read operation. Datasegments of the modified structure that have been modified are notwritten to the location from which they are read. Instead, the modifieddata segments are again converted to data packets and then written tothe next available location in the virtual page currently being written.Index entries for the respective data packets are modified to point tothe packets that contain the modified data segments. The entry orentries in the index for data packets associated with the same logicalstructure that have not been modified will include pointers to originallocation of the unmodified data packets. Thus, if the original logicalstructure is maintained, for example to maintain a previous version ofthe logical structure, the original logical structure will have pointersin the index to all data packets as originally written. The new logicalstructure will have pointers in the index to some of the original datapackets and pointers to the modified data packets in the virtual pagethat is currently being written.

In a copy operation, the index includes an entry for the originallogical structure mapped to a number of packets stored on thesolid-state storage media 110. When a copy is made, a new logicalstructure is created and a new entry is created in the index mapping thenew logical structure to the original packets. The new logical structureis also written to the solid-state storage media 110 with its locationmapped to the new entry in the index. The new logical structure packetsmay be used to identify the packets within the original logicalstructure that are referenced in case changes have been made in theoriginal logical structure that have not been propagated to the copy andthe index is lost or corrupted. In another embodiment, the indexincludes a logical entry for a logical block.

Beneficially, sequentially writing packets facilitates a more even useof the solid-state storage media 110 and allows the solid-storage devicecontroller 202 to monitor storage hot spots and level usage of thevarious virtual pages in the solid-state storage media 110. Sequentiallywriting packets also facilitates a powerful, efficient garbagecollection system, which is described in detail below. One of skill inthe art will recognize other benefits of sequential storage of datapackets.

The system 100 may comprise a log-structured storage system orlog-structured array similar to a log-structured file system and theorder that data is stored may be used to recreate an index. Typically anindex that includes a logical-to-physical mapping is stored in volatilememory. If the index is corrupted or lost, the index may bereconstructed by addressing the solid-state storage media 110 in theorder that the data was written. Within a logical erase block (“LEB”),data is typically stored sequentially by filling a first logical page,then a second logical page, etc. until the LEB is filled. Thesolid-state storage controller 104 then chooses another LEB and theprocess repeats. By maintaining an order that the LEBs were written toand by knowing that each LEB is written sequentially, the index can berebuilt by traversing the solid-state storage media 110 in order frombeginning to end. In other embodiments, if part of the index is storedin non-volatile memory, such as on the solid-state storage media 110,the solid-state storage controller 104 may only need to replay a portionof the solid-state storage media 110 to rebuild a portion of the indexthat was not stored in non-volatile memory. One of skill in the art willrecognize other benefits of sequential storage of data packets.

Solid-State Storage Device Controller

In various embodiments, the solid-state storage device controller 202also includes a data bus 204, a local bus 206, a buffer controller 208,buffers 0-N 222 a-n, a master controller 224, a direct memory access(“DMA”) controller 226, a memory controller 228, a dynamic memory array230, a static random memory array 232, a management controller 234, amanagement bus 236, a bridge 238 to a system bus 240, and miscellaneouslogic 242, which are described below. In other embodiments, the systembus 240 is coupled to one or more network interface cards (“NICs”) 244,some of which may include remote DMA (“RDMA”) controllers 246, one ormore central processing unit (“CPU”) 248, one or more external memorycontrollers 250 and associated external memory arrays 252, one or morestorage controllers 254, peer controllers 256, and application specificprocessors 258, which are described below. The components 244-258connected to the system bus 240 may be located in the host device 114 ormay be other devices.

In one embodiment, the solid-state storage controller(s) 104 communicatedata to the solid-state storage media 110 over a storage I/O bus 210. Ina certain embodiment where the solid-state storage is arranged in banks214 and each bank 214 includes multiple storage elements 216, 218, 220accessible in parallel, the storage I/O bus 210 comprises an array ofbusses, one for each row of storage elements 216, 218, 220 spanning thebanks 214. As used herein, the term “storage I/O bus” may refer to onestorage I/O bus 210 or an array of data independent busses 204. In oneembodiment, each storage I/O bus 210 accessing a row of storage elements(e.g. 216 a, 218 a, 220 a) may include a logical-to-physical mapping forstorage divisions (e.g. erase blocks) accessed in a row of storageelements 216 a, 218 a, 220 a. This mapping allows a logical addressmapped to a physical address of a storage division to be remapped to adifferent storage division if the first storage division fails,partially fails, is inaccessible, or has some other problem. Remappingis explained further in relation to the remapping module 430 of FIG. 4.

Data may also be communicated to the solid-state storage controller(s)104 from a requesting device 155 through the system bus 240, bridge 238,local bus 206, buffer(s) 222, and finally over a data bus 204. The databus 204 typically is connected to one or more buffers 222 a-n controlledwith a buffer controller 208. The buffer controller 208 typicallycontrols transfer of data from the local bus 206 to the buffers 222 andthrough the data bus 204 to the pipeline input buffer 306 and outputbuffer 330. The buffer controller 208 typically controls how dataarriving from a requesting device 155 can be temporarily stored in abuffer 222 and then transferred onto a data bus 204, or vice versa, toaccount for different clock domains, to prevent data collisions, etc.The buffer controller 208 typically works in conjunction with the mastercontroller 224 to coordinate data flow. As data arrives, the data willarrive on the system bus 240, be transferred to the local bus 206through a bridge 238.

Typically the data is transferred from the local bus 206 to one or moredata buffers 222 as directed by the master controller 224 and the buffercontroller 208. The data then flows out of the buffer(s) 222 to the databus 204, through a solid-state controller 104, and on to the solid-statestorage media 110 such as NAND flash or other storage media. In oneembodiment, data and associated out-of-band metadata (“metadata”)arriving with the data is communicated using one or more data channelscomprising one or more solid-state storage controllers 104 a-104 n-1 andassociated solid-state storage media 110 a-110 n-1 while at least onechannel (solid-state storage controller 104 n, solid-state storage media110 n) is dedicated to in-band metadata, such as index information andother metadata generated internally to the cache 102.

The local bus 206 is typically a bidirectional bus or set of busses thatallows for communication of data and commands between devices internalto the solid-state storage device controller 202 and between devicesinternal to the cache 102 and devices 244-258 connected to the systembus 240. The bridge 238 facilitates communication between the local bus206 and system bus 240. One of skill in the art will recognize otherembodiments such as ring structures or switched star configurations andfunctions of buses 240, 206, 204 and bridges 238.

The system bus 240 is typically a bus of a host device 114 or otherdevice in which the cache 102 is installed or connected. In oneembodiment, the system bus 240 may be a PCI-e bus, a Serial AdvancedTechnology Attachment (“serial ATA”) bus, parallel A TA, or the like. Inanother embodiment, the system bus 240 is an external bus such as smallcomputer system interface (“SCSI”), Fire Wire, Fiber Channel, USB,PCIe-AS, or the like. The cache 102 may be packaged to fit internally toa device or as an externally connected device.

The solid-state storage device controller 202 includes a mastercontroller 224 that controls higher-level functions within the cache102. The master controller 224, in various embodiments, controls dataflow by interpreting requests, directs creation of indexes to mapidentifiers associated with data to physical locations of associateddata, coordinating DMA requests, etc. Many of the functions describedherein are controlled wholly or in part by the master controller 224.

In one embodiment, the master controller 224 uses embeddedcontroller(s). In another embodiment, the master controller 224 useslocal memory such as a dynamic memory array 230 (dynamic random accessmemory “DRAM”), a static memory array 232 (static random access memory“SRAM”), etc. In one embodiment, the local memory is controlled usingthe master controller 224. In another embodiment, the master controller224 accesses the local memory via a memory controller 228. In anotherembodiment, the master controller 224 runs a Linux server and maysupport various common server interfaces, such as the World Wide Web,hyper-text markup language (“HTML”), etc. In another embodiment, themaster controller 224 uses a nano-processor. The master controller 224may be constructed using programmable or standard logic, or anycombination of controller types listed above. The master controller 224may be embodied as hardware, as software, or as a combination ofhardware and software. One skilled in the art will recognize manyembodiments for the master controller 224.

In one embodiment, where the storage controller 152/solid-state storagedevice controller 202 manages multiple data storage devices/solid-statestorage media 110 a-n, the master controller 224 divides the work loadamong internal controllers, such as the solid-state storage controllers104 a-n. For example, the master controller 224 may divide a datastructure to be written to the data storage devices (e.g. solid-statestorage media 110 a-n) so that a portion of the data structure is storedon each of the attached data storage devices. This feature is aperformance enhancement allowing quicker storage and access to a datastructure. In one embodiment, the master controller 224 is implementedusing an FPGA. In another embodiment, the firmware within the mastercontroller 224 may be updated through the management bus 236, the systembus 240 over a network connected to a NIC 244 or other device connectedto the system bus 240.

In one embodiment, the master controller 224 emulates block storage suchthat a host device 114 or other device connected to the storagedevice/cache 102 views the storage device/cache 102 as a block storagedevice and sends data to specific physical or logical addresses in thestorage device/cache 102. The master controller 224 then divides up theblocks and stores the data blocks. The master controller 224 then mapsthe blocks and physical or logical address sent with the block to theactual locations determined by the master controller 224. The mapping isstored in the index. Typically, for block emulation, a block deviceapplication program interface (“API”) is provided in a driver in thehost device 114, or other device wishing to use the storage device/cache102 as a block storage device.

In another embodiment, the master controller 224 coordinates with NICcontrollers 244 and embedded RDMA controllers 246 to deliverjust-in-time RDMA transfers of data and command sets. NIC controller 244may be hidden behind a non-transparent port to enable the use of customdrivers. Also, a driver on a host device 114 may have access to acomputer network through an I/O memory driver using a standard stack APIand operating in conjunction with NICs 244.

In one embodiment, the master controller 224 is also a redundant arrayof independent drive (“RAID”) controller. Where the data storagedevice/cache 102 is networked with one or more other data storagedevices, the master controller 224 may be a RAID controller for singletier RAID, multi-tier RAID, progressive RAID, etc. The master controller224 may also allows some objects and other data structures to be storedin a RAID array and other data structures to be stored without RAID. Inanother embodiment, the master controller 224 may be a distributed RAIDcontroller element. In another embodiment, the master controller 224 maycomprise many RAID, distributed RAID, and other functions as describedelsewhere.

In one embodiment, the master controller 224 coordinates with single orredundant network managers (e.g. switches) to establish routing, tobalance bandwidth utilization, failover, etc. In another embodiment, themaster controller 224 coordinates with integrated application specificlogic (via local bus 206) and associated driver software. In anotherembodiment, the master controller 224 coordinates with attachedapplication specific processors 258 or logic (via the external systembus 240) and associated driver software. In another embodiment, themaster controller 224 coordinates with remote application specific logic(via a computer network) and associated driver software. In anotherembodiment, the master controller 224 coordinates with the local bus 206or external bus attached hard disk drive (“HDD”) storage controller.

In one embodiment, the master controller 224 communicates with one ormore storage controllers 254 where the storage device/cache 102 mayappear as a storage device connected through a SCSI bus, Internet SCSI(“iSCSI”), fiber channel, etc. Meanwhile the storage device/cache 102may autonomously manage objects or other data structures and may appearas an object file system or distributed object file system. The mastercontroller 224 may also be accessed by peer controllers 256 and/orapplication specific processors 258.

In another embodiment, the master controller 224 coordinates with anautonomous integrated management controller to periodically validateFPGA code and/or controller software, validate FPGA code while running(reset) and/or validate controller software during power on (reset),support external reset requests, support reset requests due to watchdogtimeouts, and support voltage, current, power, temperature, and otherenvironmental measurements and setting of threshold interrupts. Inanother embodiment, the master controller 224 manages garbage collectionto free erase blocks for reuse. In another embodiment, the mastercontroller 224 manages wear leveling. In another embodiment, the mastercontroller 224 allows the data storage device/cache 102 to bepartitioned into multiple virtual devices and allows partition-basedmedia encryption. In yet another embodiment, the master controller 224supports a solid-state storage controller 104 with advanced, multi-bitECC correction. One of skill in the art will recognize other featuresand functions of a master controller 224 in a storage controller 152, ormore specifically in a cache 102.

In one embodiment, the solid-state storage device controller 202includes a memory controller 228 which controls a dynamic random memoryarray 230 and/or a static random memory array 232. As stated above, thememory controller 228 may be independent or integrated with the mastercontroller 224. The memory controller 228 typically controls volatilememory of some type, such as DRAM (dynamic random memory array 230) andSRAM (static random memory array 232). In other examples, the memorycontroller 228 also controls other memory types such as electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (“EEPROM”), etc.

In other embodiments, the memory controller 228 controls two or morememory types and the memory controller 228 may include more than onecontroller. Typically, the memory controller 228 controls as much SRAM232 as is feasible and by DRAM 230 to supplement the SR AM 232.

In one embodiment, the logical-to-physical index is stored in memory230, 232 and then periodically off-loaded to a channel of thesolid-state storage media 110 n or other non-volatile memory. One ofskill in the art will recognize other uses and configurations of thememory controller 228, dynamic memory array 230, and static memory array232.

In one embodiment, the solid-state storage device controller 202includes a DMA controller 226 that controls DMA operations between thestorage device/cache 102 and one or more external memory controllers 250and associated external memory arrays 252 and CPUs 248. Note that theexternal memory controllers 250 and external memory arrays 252 arecalled external because they are external to the storage device/cache102. In addition the DMA controller 226 may also control RDMA operationswith requesting devices through a NIC 244 and associated RDMA controller246.

In one embodiment, the solid-state storage device controller 202includes a management controller 234 connected to a management bus 236.Typically the management controller 234 manages environmental metricsand status of the storage device/cache 102. The management controller234 may monitor device temperature, fan speed, power supply settings,etc. over the management bus 236. The management controller 234 maysupport the reading and programming of erasable programmable read onlymemory (“EEPROM”) for storage of FPGA code and controller software.Typically the management bus 236 is connected to the various componentswithin the storage device/cache 102. The management controller 234 maycommunicate alerts, interrupts, etc. over the local bus 206 or mayinclude a separate connection to a system bus 240 or other bus. In oneembodiment the management bus 236 is an Inter-Integrated Circuit (“I2C”)bus. One of skill in the art will recognize other related functions anduses of a management controller 234 connected to components of thestorage device/cache 102 by a management bus 236.

In one embodiment, the solid-state storage device controller 202includes miscellaneous logic 242 that may be customized for a specificapplication. Typically where the solid-state device controller 202 ormaster controller 224 is/are configured using a FPGA or otherconfigurable controller, custom logic may be included based on aparticular application, customer requirement, storage requirement, etc.

Data Pipeline

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment 300 of asolid-state storage controller 104 with a write data pipeline 106 and aread data pipeline 108 in a cache 102 in accordance with the presentinvention. The embodiment 300 includes a data bus 204, a local bus 206,and buffer control 208, which are substantially similar to thosedescribed in relation to the solid-state storage device controller 202of FIG. 2. The write data pipeline 106 includes a packetizer 302 and anerror-correcting code (“ECC”) generator 304. In other embodiments, thewrite data pipeline 106 includes an input buffer 306, a writesynchronization buffer 308, a write program module 310, a compressionmodule 312, an encryption module 314, a garbage collector bypass 316(with a portion within the read data pipeline 108), a media encryptionmodule 318, and a write buffer 320. The read data pipeline 108 includesa read synchronization buffer 328, an ECC correction module 322, adepacketizer 324, an alignment module 326, and an output buffer 330. Inother embodiments, the read data pipeline 108 may include a mediadecryption module 332, a portion of the garbage collector bypass 316, adecryption module 334, a decompression module 336, and a read programmodule 338. The solid-state storage controller 104 may also includecontrol and status registers 340 and control queues 342, a bankinterleave controller 344, a synchronization buffer 346, a storage buscontroller 348, and a multiplexer (“MUX”) 350. The components of thesolid-state controller 104 and associated write data pipeline 106 andread data pipeline 108 are described below. In other embodiments,synchronous solid-state storage media 110 may be used andsynchronization buffers 308 328 may be eliminated.

Write Data Pipeline

The write data pipeline 106 includes a packetizer 302 that receives adata or metadata segment to be written to the solid-state storage,either directly or indirectly through another write data pipeline 106stage, and creates one or more packets sized for the solid-state storagemedia 110. The data or metadata segment is typically part of a datastructure such as an object, but may also include an entire datastructure. In another embodiment, the data segment is part of a block ofdata, but may also include an entire block of data. Typically, a set ofdata such as a data structure is received from a computer such as thehost device 114, or other computer or device and is transmitted to thecache 102 in data segments streamed to the cache 102 and/or the hostdevice 114. A data segment may also be known by another name, such asdata parcel, but as referenced herein includes all or a portion of adata structure or data block.

Each data structure is stored as one or more packets. Each datastructure may have one or more container packets. Each packet contains aheader. The header may include a header type field. Type fields mayinclude data, attribute, metadata, data segment delimiters(multi-packet), data structures, data linkages, and the like. The headermay also include information regarding the size of the packet, such asthe number of bytes of data included in the packet. The length of thepacket may be established by the packet type. The header may includeinformation that establishes the relationship of the packet to a datastructure. An example might be the use of an offset in a data packetheader to identify the location of the data segment within the datastructure. One of skill in the art will recognize other information thatmay be included in a header added to data by a packetizer 302 and otherinformation that may be added to a data packet.

Each packet includes a header and possibly data from the data ormetadata segment. The header of each packet includes pertinentinformation to relate the packet to the data structure to which thepacket belongs. For example, the header may include an object identifieror other data structure identifier and offset that indicate the datasegment, object, data structure or data block from which the data packetwas formed. The header may also include a logical address used by thestorage bus controller 348 to store the packet. The header may alsoinclude information regarding the size of the packet, such as the numberof bytes included in the packet. The header may also include a sequencenumber that identifies where the data segment belongs with respect toother packets within the data structure when reconstructing the datasegment or data structure. The header may include a header type field.Type fields may include data, data structure attributes, metadata, datasegment delimiters (multi-packet), data structure types, data structurelinkages, and the like. One of skill in the art will recognize otherinformation that may be included in a header added to data or metadataby a packetizer 302 and other information that may be added to a packet.

The write data pipeline 106 includes an ECC generator 304 that thatgenerates one or more error-correcting codes (“ECC”) for the one or morepackets received from the packetizer 302. The ECC generator 304typically uses an error correcting algorithm to generate ECC check bitswhich are stored with the one or more data packets. The ECC codesgenerated by the ECC generator 304 together with the one or more datapackets associated with the ECC codes comprise an ECC chunk. The ECCdata stored with the one or more data packets is used to detect and tocorrect errors introduced into the data through transmission andstorage. In one embodiment, packets are streamed into the ECC generator304 as un-encoded blocks of length N. A syndrome of length S iscalculated, appended and output as an encoded block of length N+S. Thevalue of N and S are dependent upon the characteristics of the algorithmwhich is selected to achieve specific performance, efficiency, androbustness metrics. In one embodiment, there is no fixed relationshipbetween the ECC blocks and the packets; the packet may comprise morethan one ECC block; the ECC block may comprise more than one packet; anda first packet may end anywhere within the ECC block and a second packetmay begin after the end of the first packet within the same ECC block.In one embodiment, ECC algorithms are not dynamically modified. In oneembodiment, the ECC data stored with the data packets is robust enoughto correct errors in more than two bits.

Beneficially, using a robust ECC algorithm allowing more than single bitcorrection or even double bit correction allows the life of thesolid-state storage media 110 to be extended. For example, if flashmemory is used as the storage medium in the solid-state storage media110, the flash memory may be written approximately 100,000 times withouterror per erase cycle. This usage limit may be extended using a robustECC algorithm. Having the ECC generator 304 and corresponding ECCcorrection module 322 onboard the cache 102, the cache 102 caninternally correct errors and has a longer useful life than if a lessrobust ECC algorithm is used, such as single bit correction. However, inother embodiments the ECC generator 304 may use a less robust algorithmand may correct single-bit or double-bit errors. In another embodiment,the solid-state storage device 110 may comprise less reliable storagesuch as multi-level cell (“MLC”) flash in order to increase capacity,which storage may not be sufficiently reliable without more robust ECCalgorithms.

In one embodiment, the write pipeline 106 includes an input buffer 306that receives a data segment to be written to the solid-state storagemedia 110 and stores the incoming data segments until the next stage ofthe write data pipeline 106, such as the packetizer 302 (or other stagefor a more complex write data pipeline 106) is ready to process the nextdata segment. The input buffer 306 typically allows for discrepanciesbetween the rate data segments are received and processed by the writedata pipeline 106 using an appropriately sized data buffer. The inputbuffer 306 also allows the data bus 204 to transfer data to the writedata pipeline 106 at rates greater than can be sustained by the writedata pipeline 106 in order to improve efficiency of operation of thedata bus 204. Typically when the write data pipeline 106 does notinclude an input buffer 306, a buffering function is performedelsewhere, such as in the cache 102, but outside the write data pipeline106, in the host device 114, such as within a network interface card(“NIC”), or at another device, for example when using remote directmemory access (“RDMA”).

In another embodiment, the write data pipeline 106 also includes a writesynchronization buffer 308 that buffers packets received from the ECCgenerator 304 prior to writing the packets to the solid-state storagemedia 110. The write synch buffer 308 is located at a boundary between alocal clock domain and a solid-state storage clock domain and providesbuffering to account for the clock domain differences. In otherembodiments, synchronous solid-state storage media 110 may be used andsynchronization buffers 308 328 may be eliminated.

In one embodiment, the write data pipeline 106 also includes a mediaencryption module 318 that receives the one or more packets from thepacketizer 302, either directly or indirectly, and encrypts the one ormore packets using an encryption key unique to the cache 102 prior tosending the packets to the ECC generator 304. Typically, the entirepacket is encrypted, including the headers. In another embodiment,headers are not encrypted. In this document, encryption key isunderstood to mean a secret encryption key that is managed externallyfrom a solid-state storage controller 104.

The media encryption module 318 and corresponding media decryptionmodule 332 provide a level of security for data stored in thesolid-state storage media 110. For example, where data is encrypted withthe media encryption module 318, if the solid-state storage media 110 isconnected to a different solid-state storage controller 104, cache 102,or server, the contents of the solid-state storage media 110 typicallycould not be read without use of the same encryption key used during thewrite of the data to the solid-state storage media 110 withoutsignificant effort.

In a typical embodiment, the cache 102 does not store the encryption keyin non-volatile storage and allows no external access to the encryptionkey. The encryption key is provided to the solid-state storagecontroller 104 during initialization. The cache 102 may use and store anon-secret cryptographic nonce that is used in conjunction with anencryption key. A different nonce may be stored with every packet. Datasegments may be split between multiple packets with unique nonces forthe purpose of improving protection by the encryption algorithm.

The encryption key may be received from a host device 114, a server, keymanager, or other device that manages the encryption key to be used bythe solid-state storage controller 104. In another embodiment, thesolid-state storage media 110 may have two or more partitions and thesolid-state storage controller 104 behaves as though it was two or moresolid-state storage controllers 104, each operating on a singlepartition within the solid-state storage media 110. In this embodiment,a unique media encryption key may be used with each partition.

In another embodiment, the write data pipeline 106 also includes anencryption module 314 that encrypts a data or metadata segment receivedfrom the input buffer 306, either directly or indirectly, prior sendingthe data segment to the packetizer 302, the data segment encrypted usingan encryption key received in conjunction with the data segment. Theencryption keys used by the encryption module 314 to encrypt data maynot be common to all data stored within the cache 102 but may vary on anper data structure basis and received in conjunction with receiving datasegments as described below. For example, an encryption key for a datasegment to be encrypted by the encryption module 314 may be receivedwith the data segment or may be received as part of a command to write adata structure to which the data segment belongs. The cache 102 may useand store a non-secret cryptographic nonce in each data structure packetthat is used in conjunction with the encryption key. A different noncemay be stored with every packet. Data segments may be split betweenmultiple packets with unique nonces for the purpose of improvingprotection by the encryption algorithm.

The encryption key may be received from a host device 114, a computer,key manager, or other device that holds the encryption key to be used toencrypt the data segment. In one embodiment, encryption keys aretransferred to the solid-state storage controller 104 from one of acache 102, a computer, a host device 114, or other external agent whichhas the ability to execute industry standard methods to securelytransfer and protect private and public keys.

In one embodiment, the encryption module 314 encrypts a first packetwith a first encryption key received in conjunction with the packet andencrypts a second packet with a second encryption key received inconjunction with the second packet. In another embodiment, theencryption module 314 encrypts a first packet with a first encryptionkey received in conjunction with the packet and passes a second datapacket on to the next stage without encryption. Beneficially, theencryption module 314 included in the write data pipeline 106 of thecache 102 allows data structure-by-data structure or segment-by-segmentdata encryption without a single file system or other external system tokeep track of the different encryption keys used to store correspondingdata structures or data segments. Each requesting device 155 or relatedkey manager independently manages encryption keys used to encrypt onlythe data structures or data segments sent by the requesting device 155.

In one embodiment, the encryption module 314 may encrypt the one or morepackets using an encryption key unique to the cache 102. The encryptionmodule 314 may perform this media encryption independently, or inaddition to the encryption described above. Typically, the entire packetis encrypted, including the headers. In another embodiment, headers arenot encrypted. The media encryption by the encryption module 314provides a level of security for data stored in the solid-state storagemedia 110. For example, where data is encrypted with media encryptionunique to the specific cache 102 if the solid-state storage media 110 isconnected to a different solid-state storage controller 104, cache 102,or host device 114, the contents of the solid-state storage media 110typically could not be read without use of the same encryption key usedduring the write of the data to the solid-state storage media 110without significant effort.

In another embodiment, the write data pipeline 106 includes acompression module 312 that compresses the data for metadata segmentprior to sending the data segment to the packetizer 302. The compressionmodule 312 typically compresses a data or metadata segment using acompression routine known to those of skill in the art to reduce thestorage size of the segment. For example, if a data segment includes astring of 512 zeros, the compression module 312 may replace the 512zeros with code or token indicating the 512 zeros where the code is muchmore compact than the space taken by the 512 zeros.

In one embodiment, the compression module 312 compresses a first segmentwith a first compression routine and passes along a second segmentwithout compression. In another embodiment, the compression module 312compresses a first segment with a first compression routine andcompresses the second segment with a second compression routine. Havingthis flexibility within the cache 102 is beneficial so that the hostdevice 114 or other devices writing data to the cache 102 may eachspecify a compression routine or so that one can specify a compressionroutine while another specifies no compression. Selection of compressionroutines may also be selected according to default settings on a perdata structure type or data structure class basis. For example, a firstdata structure of a specific data structure may be able to overridedefault compression routine settings and a second data structure of thesame data structure class and data structure type may use the defaultcompression routine and a third data structure of the same datastructure class and data structure type may use no compression.

In one embodiment, the write data pipeline 106 includes a garbagecollector bypass 316 that receives data segments from the read datapipeline 108 as part of a data bypass in a garbage collection system. Agarbage collection system typically marks packets that are no longervalid, typically because the packet is marked for deletion or has beenmodified and the modified data is stored in a different location. Atsome point, the garbage collection system determines that a particularsection of storage may be recovered. This determination may be due to alack of available storage capacity, the percentage of data marked asinvalid reaching a threshold, a consolidation of valid data, an errordetection rate for that section of storage reaching a threshold, orimproving performance based on data distribution, etc. Numerous factorsmay be considered by a garbage collection algorithm to determine when asection of storage is to be recovered.

Once a section of storage has been marked for recovery, valid packets inthe section typically must be relocated. The garbage collector bypass316 allows packets to be read into the read data pipeline 108 and thentransferred directly to the write data pipeline 106 without being routedout of the solid-state storage controller 104. In one embodiment, thegarbage collector bypass 316 is part of an autonomous garbage collectorsystem that operates within the cache 102. This allows the cache 102 tomanage data so that data is systematically spread throughout thesolid-state storage media 110 to improve performance, data reliabilityand to avoid overuse and underuse of any one location or area of thesolid-state storage media 110 and to lengthen the useful life of thesolid-state storage media 110.

The garbage collector bypass 316 coordinates insertion of segments intothe write data pipeline 106 with other segments being written by a hostdevice 114 or other devices. In the depicted embodiment, the garbagecollector bypass 316 is before the packetizer 302 in the write datapipeline 106 and after the depacketizer 324 in the read data pipeline108, but may also be located elsewhere in the read and write datapipelines 106, 108. The garbage collector bypass 316 may be used duringa flush of the write pipeline 108 to fill the remainder of the virtualpage in order to improve the efficiency of storage within thesolid-state storage media 110 and thereby reduce the frequency ofgarbage collection.

In one embodiment, the write data pipeline 106 includes a write buffer320 that buffers data for efficient write operations. Typically, thewrite buffer 320 includes enough capacity for packets to fill at leastone virtual page in the solid-state storage media 110. This allows awrite operation to send an entire page of data to the solid-statestorage media 110 without interruption. By sizing the write buffer 320of the write data pipeline 106 and buffers within the read data pipeline108 to be the same capacity or larger than a storage write buffer withinthe solid-state storage media 110, writing and reading data is moreefficient since a single write command may be crafted to send a fillvirtual page of data to the solid-state storage media 110 instead ofmultiple commands.

While the write buffer 320 is being filled, the solid-state storagemedia 110 may be used for other read operations. This is advantageousbecause other solid-state devices with a smaller write buffer or nowrite buffer may tie up the solid-state storage when data is written toa storage write buffer and data flowing into the storage write bufferstalls. Read operations will be blocked until the entire storage writebuffer is filled and programmed. Another approach for systems without awrite buffer or a small write buffer is to flush the storage writebuffer that is not full in order to enable reads. Again this isinefficient because multiple write/program cycles are required to fill apage.

For depicted embodiment with a write buffer 320 sized larger than avirtual page, a single write command, which includes numeroussubcommands, can then be followed by a single program command totransfer the page of data from the storage write buffer in eachsolid-state storage element 216, 218, 220 to the designated page withineach solid-state storage element 216, 218, 220. This technique has thebenefits of eliminating partial page programming, which is known toreduce data reliability and durability and freeing up the destinationbank for reads and other commands while the buffer fills.

In one embodiment, the write buffer 320 is a ping-pong buffer where oneside of the buffer is filled and then designated for transfer at anappropriate time while the other side of the ping-pong buffer is beingfilled. In another embodiment, the write buffer 320 includes a first-infirst-out (“FIFO”) register with a capacity of more than a virtual pageof data segments. One of skill in the art will recognize other writebuffer 320 configurations that allow a virtual page of data to be storedprior to writing the data to the solid-state storage media 110.

In another embodiment, the write buffer 320 is sized smaller than avirtual page so that less than a page of information could be written toa storage write buffer in the solid-state storage media 110. In theembodiment, to prevent a stall in the write data pipeline 106 fromholding up read operations, data is queued using the garbage collectionsystem that needs to be moved from one location to another as part ofthe garbage collection process. In case of a data stall in the writedata pipeline 106, the data can be fed through the garbage collectorbypass 316 to the write buffer 320 and then on to the storage writebuffer in the solid-state storage media. 110 to fill the pages of avirtual page prior to programming the data. In this way a data stall inthe write data pipeline 106 would not stall reading from the cache 102.

In another embodiment, the write data pipeline 106 includes a writeprogram module 310 with one or more user-definable functions within thewrite data pipeline 106. The write program module 310 allows a user tocustomize the write data pipeline 106. A user may customize the writedata pipeline 106 based on a particular data requirement or application.Where the solid-state storage controller 104 is an FPGA, the user mayprogram the write data pipeline 106 with custom commands and functionsrelatively easily. A user may also use the write program module 310 toinclude custom functions with an ASIC, however, customizing an ASIC maybe more difficult than with an FPGA. The write program module 310 mayinclude buffers and bypass mechanisms to allow a first data segment toexecute in the write program module 310 while a second data segment maycontinue through the write data pipeline 106. In another embodiment, thewrite program module 310 may include a processor core that can beprogrammed through software.

Note that the write program module 310 is shown between the input buffer306 and the compression module 312, however, the write program module310 could be anywhere in the write data pipeline 106 and may bedistributed among the various stages 302-320. In addition, there may bemultiple write program modules 310 distributed among the various states302-320 that are programmed and operate independently. In addition, theorder of the stages 302-320 may be altered. One of skill in the art willrecognize workable alterations to the order of the stages 302-320 basedon particular user requirements.

Read Data Pipeline

The read data pipeline 108 includes an ECC correction module 322 thatdetermines if a data error exists in ECC blocks a requested packetreceived from the solid-state storage media 110 by using ECC stored witheach ECC block of the requested packet. The ECC correction module 322then corrects any errors in the requested packet if any error exists andthe errors are correctable using the FCC. For example, if the ECC candetect an error in six bits but can only correct three bit errors, theECC correction module 322 corrects ECC blocks of the requested packetwith up to three bits in error. The ECC correction module 322 correctsthe bits in error by changing the bits in error to the correct one orzero state so that the requested data packet is identical to when it waswritten to the solid-state storage media 110 and the ECC was generatedfor the packet.

If the ECC correction module 322 determines that the requested packetscontains more bits in error than the ECC can correct, the ECC correctionmodule 322 cannot correct the errors in the corrupted ECC blocks of therequested packet and sends an interrupt. In one embodiment, the ECCcorrection module 322 sends an interrupt with a message indicating thatthe requested packet is in error. The message may include informationthat the ECC correction module 322 cannot correct the errors or theinability of the ECC correction module 322 to correct the errors may beimplied. In another embodiment, the ECC correction module 322 sends thecorrupted ECC blocks of the requested packet with the interrupt and/orthe message.

In one embodiment, a corrupted ECC block or portion of a corrupted ECCblock of the requested packet that cannot be corrected by the ECCcorrection module 322 is read by the master controller 224, corrected,and returned to the ECC correction module 322 for further processing bythe read data pipeline 108. In one embodiment, a corrupted ECC block orportion of a corrupted ECC block of the requested packet is sent to thedevice requesting the data. The requesting device 155 may correct theECC block or replace the data using another copy, such as a backup ormirror copy, and then may use the replacement data of the requested datapacket or return it to the read data pipeline 108. The requesting device155 may use header information in the requested packet in error toidentify data required to replace the corrupted requested packet or toreplace the data structure to which the packet belongs. In anotherembodiment, the solid-state storage controller 104 stores data usingsome type of RAID and is able to recover the corrupted data. In anotherembodiment, the ECC correction module 322 sends an interrupt and/ormessage and the receiving device fails the read operation associatedwith the requested data packet. One of skill in the art will recognizeother options and actions to be taken as a result of the ECC correctionmodule 322 determining that one or more ECC blocks of the requestedpacket are corrupted and that the ECC correction module 322 cannotcorrect the errors.

The read data pipeline 108 includes a depacketizer 324 that receives ECCblocks of the requested packet from the ECC correction module 322,directly or indirectly, and checks and removes one or more packetheaders. The depacketizer 324 may validate the packet headers bychecking packet identifiers, data length, data location, etc. within theheaders. In one embodiment, the header includes a hash code that can beused to validate that the packet delivered to the read data pipeline 108is the requested packet. The depacketizer 324 also removes the headersfrom the requested packet added by the packetizer 302. The depacketizer324 may directed to not operate on certain packets but pass theseforward without modification. An example might be a container label thatis requested during the course of a rebuild process where the headerinformation is required for index reconstruction. Further examplesinclude the transfer of packets of various types destined for use withinthe cache 102. In another embodiment, the depacketizer 324 operation maybe packet type dependent.

The read data pipeline 108 includes an alignment module 326 thatreceives data from the depacketizer 324 and removes unwanted data. Inone embodiment, a read command sent to the solid-state storage media 110retrieves a packet of data. A device requesting the data may not requireall data within the retrieved packet and the alignment module 326removes the unwanted data. If all data within a retrieved page isrequested data, the alignment module 326 does not remove any data.

The alignment module 326 re-formats the data as data segments of a datastructure in a form compatible with a device requesting the data segmentprior to forwarding the data segment to the next stage. Typically, asdata is processed by the read data pipeline 108, the size of datasegments or packets changes at various stages. The alignment module 326uses received data to format the data into data segments suitable to besent to the requesting device 155 and joined to form a response. Forexample, data from a portion of a first data packet may be combined withdata from a portion of a second data packet. If a data segment is largerthan a data requested by the requesting device 155, the alignment module326 may discard the unwanted data.

In one embodiment, the read data pipeline 108 includes a readsynchronization buffer 328 that buffers one or more requested packetsread from the solid-state storage media 110 prior to processing by theread data pipeline 108. The read synchronization buffer 328 is at theboundary between the solid-state storage clock domain and the local busclock domain and provides buffering to account for the clock domaindifferences.

In another embodiment, the read data pipeline 108 includes an outputbuffer 330 that receives requested packets from the alignment module 326and stores the packets prior to transmission to the requesting device155. The output buffer 330 accounts for differences between when datasegments are received from stages of the read data pipeline 108 and whenthe data segments are transmitted to other parts of the solid-statestorage controller 104 or to the requesting device 155. The outputbuffer 330 also allows the data bus 204 to receive data from the readdata pipeline 108 at rates greater than can be sustained by the readdata pipeline 108 in order to improve efficiency of operation of thedata bus 204.

In one embodiment, the read data pipeline 108 includes a mediadecryption module 332 that receives one or more encrypted requestedpackets from the ECC correction module 322 and decrypts the one or morerequested packets using the encryption key unique to the cache 102 priorto sending the one or more requested packets to the depacketizer 324.Typically the encryption key used to decrypt data by the mediadecryption module 332 is identical to the encryption key used by themedia encryption module 318. In another embodiment, the solid-statestorage media 110 may have two or more partitions and the solid-statestorage controller 104 behaves as though it was two or more solid-statestorage controllers 104 each operating on a single partition within thesolid-state storage media 110. In this embodiment, a unique mediaencryption key may be used with each partition.

In another embodiment, the read data pipeline 108 includes a decryptionmodule 334 that decrypts a data segment formatted by the depacketizer324 prior to sending the data segment to the output buffer 330. The datasegment may be decrypted using an encryption key received in conjunctionwith the read request that initiates retrieval of the requested packetreceived by the read synchronization buffer 328. The decryption module334 may decrypt a first packet with an encryption key received inconjunction with the read request for the first packet and then maydecrypt a second packet with a different encryption key or may pass thesecond packet on to the next stage of the read data pipeline 108 withoutdecryption. When the packet was stored with a non-secret cryptographicnonce, the nonce is used in conjunction with an encryption key todecrypt the data packet. The encryption key may be received from a hostdevice 114, a computer, key manager, or other device that manages theencryption key to be used by the solid-state storage controller 104.

In another embodiment, the read data pipeline 108 includes adecompression module 336 that decompresses a data segment formatted bythe depacketizer 324. In one embodiment, the decompression module 336uses compression information stored in one or both of the packet headerand the container label to select a complementary routine to that usedto compress the data by the compression module 312. In anotherembodiment, the decompression routine used by the decompression module336 is dictated by the device requesting the data segment beingdecompressed. In another embodiment, the decompression module 336selects a decompression routine according to default settings on a perdata structure type or data structure class basis. A first packet of afirst object may be able to override a default decompression routine anda second packet of a second data structure of the same data structureclass and data structure type may use the default decompression routineand a third packet of a third data structure of the same data structureclass and data structure type may use no decompression.

In another embodiment, the read data pipeline 108 includes a readprogram module 338 that includes one or more user-definable functionswithin the read data pipeline 108. The read program module 338 hassimilar characteristics to the write program module 310 and allows auser to provide custom functions to the read data pipeline 108. The readprogram module 338 may be located as shown in FIG. 3, may be located inanother position within the read data pipeline 108, or may includemultiple parts in multiple locations within the read data pipeline 108.Additionally, there may be multiple read program modules 338 withinmultiple locations within the read data pipeline 108 that operateindependently. One of skill in the art will recognize other forms of aread program module 338 within a read data pipeline 108. As with thewrite data pipeline 106, the stages of the read data pipeline 108 may berearranged and one of skill in the art will recognize other orders ofstages within the read data pipeline 108.

The solid-state storage controller 104 includes control and statusregisters 340 and corresponding control queues 342. The control andstatus registers 340 and control queues 342 facilitate control andsequencing commands and subcommands associated with data processed inthe write and read data pipelines 106, 108. For example, a data segmentin the packetizer 302 may have one or more corresponding controlcommands or instructions in a control queue 342 associated with the ECCgenerator 304. As the data segment is packetized, some of theinstructions or commands may be executed within the packetizer 302.Other commands or instructions may be passed to the next control queue342 through the control and status registers 340 as the newly formeddata packet created from the data segment is passed to the next stage.

Commands or instructions may be simultaneously loaded into the controlqueues 342 for a packet being forwarded to the write data pipeline 106with each pipeline stage pulling the appropriate command or instructionas the respective packet is executed by that stage. Similarly, commandsor instructions may be simultaneously loaded into the control queues 342for a packet being requested from the read data pipeline 108 with eachpipeline stage pulling the appropriate command or instruction as therespective packet is executed by that stage. One of skill in the artwill recognize other features and functions of control and statusregisters 340 and control queues 342.

The solid-state storage controller 104 and or the cache 102 may alsoinclude a bank interleave controller 344, a synchronization buffer 346,a storage bus controller 348, and a multiplexer (“MUX”) 350, which aredescribed in relation to FIG. 4.

Bank Interleave

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment 400 of abank interleave controller 344 in the solid-state storage controller 104in accordance with the present invention. The bank interleave controller344 is connected to the control and status registers 340 and to thestorage I/O bus 210 and storage control bus 212 through the MUX 350,storage bus controller 348, and synchronization buffer 346, which aredescribed below. The bank interleave controller 344 includes a readagent 402, a write agent 404, an erase agent 406, a management agent408, read queues 410 a-n, write queues 412 a-n, erase queues 414 a-n,and management queues 416 a-n for the banks 214 in the solid-statestorage media 110, bank controllers 418 a-n, a bus arbiter 420, and astatus MUX 422, which are described below. The storage bus controller348 includes a mapping module 424 with a remapping module 430, a statuscapture module 426, and a NAND) bus controller 428, which are describedbelow.

The bank interleave controller 344 directs one or more commands to twoor more queues in the bank interleave controller 104 and coordinatesamong the banks 214 of the solid-state storage media 110 execution ofthe commands stored in the queues, such that a command of a first typeexecutes on one bank 214 a while a command of a second type executes ona second bank 214 b. The one or more commands are separated by commandtype into the queues. Each bank 214 of the solid-state storage media 110has a corresponding set of queues within the bank interleave controller344 and each set of queues includes a queue for each command type.

The bank interleave controller 344 coordinates among the banks 214 ofthe solid-state storage media 110 execution of the commands stored inthe queues. For example, a command of a first type executes on one bank214 a while a command of a second type executes on a second bank 214 b.Typically the command types and queue types include read and writecommands and queues 410, 412, but may also include other commands andqueues that are storage media specific. For example, in the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 4, erase and management queues 414, 416 are includedand would be appropriate for flash memory, N RAM, MRAM, DRAM, PRAM, etc.

For other types of solid-state storage media 110, other types ofcommands and corresponding queues may be included without straying fromthe scope of the invention. The flexible nature of an FPGA solid-statestorage controller 104 allows flexibility in storage media. If flashmemory were changed to another solid-state storage type, the bankinterleave controller 344, storage bus controller 348, and MUX 350 couldbe altered to accommodate the media type without significantly affectingthe data pipelines 106, 108 and other solid-state storage controller 104functions.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, the bank interleave controller 344includes, for each bank 214, a read queue 410 for reading data from thesolid-state storage media 110, a write queue 412 for write commands tothe solid-state storage media 110, an erase queue 414 for erasing anerase block in the solid-state storage, an a management queue 416 formanagement commands. The bank interleave controller 344 also includescorresponding read, write, erase, and management agents 402, 404, 406,408. In another embodiment, the control and status registers 340 andcontrol queues 342 or similar components queue commands for data sent tothe banks 214 of the solid-state storage media 110 without a bankinterleave controller 344.

The agents 402, 404, 406, 408, in one embodiment, direct commands of theappropriate type destined for a particular bank 214 a to the correctqueue for the bank 214 a. For example, the read agent 402 may receive aread command for bank-1 214 b and directs the read command to the bank-1read queue 410 b. The write agent 404 may receive a write command towrite data to a location in bank-0 214 a of the solid-state storagemedia 110 and will then send the write command to the bank-0 write queue412 a. Similarly, the erase agent 406 may receive an erase command toerase an erase block in bank-1 214 b and will then pass the erasecommand to the bank-1 erase queue 414 b. The management agent 408typically receives management commands, status requests, and the like,such as a reset command or a request to read a configuration register ofa bank 214, such as bank-0 214 a. The management agent 408 sends themanagement command to the bank-0 management queue 416 a.

The agents 402, 404, 406, 408 typically also monitor status of thequeues 410,412, 414, 416 and send status, interrupt, or other messageswhen the queues 410, 412, 414, 416 are full, nearly full,non-functional, etc. In one embodiment, the agents 402, 404, 406, 408receive commands and generate corresponding sub-commands. In oneembodiment, the agents 402, 404, 406, 408 receive commands through thecontrol & status registers 340 and generate corresponding sub-commandswhich are forwarded to the queues 410, 412, 414, 416. One of skill inthe art will recognize other functions of the agents 402, 404, 406, 408.

The queues 410, 412, 414, 416 typically receive commands and store thecommands until required to be sent to the solid-state storage banks 214.In a typical embodiment, the queues 410, 412, 414, 416 are first-in,first-out (“FIFO”) registers or a similar component that operates as aFIFO. In another embodiment, the queues 410, 412, 414, 416 storecommands in an order that matches data, order of importance, or othercriteria.

The bank controllers 418 typically receive commands from the queues 410,412, 414, 416 and generate appropriate subcommands. For example, thebank-0 write queue 412 a may receive a command to write a page of datapackets to bank-0 214 a. The bank-0 controller 418 a may receive thewrite command at an appropriate time and may generate one or more writesubcommands for each data packet stored in the write buffer 320 to bewritten to the page in bank-0 214 a. For example, bank-0 controller 418a may generate commands to validate the status of bank O 214 a and thesolid-state storage array 216, select the appropriate location forwriting one or more data packets, clear the input buffers within thesolid-state storage memory array 216, transfer the one or more datapackets to the input buffers, program the input buffers into theselected location, verify that the data was correctly programmed, and ifprogram failures occur do one or more of interrupting the mastercontroller 224, retrying the write to the same physical location, andretrying the write to a different physical location. Additionally, inconjunction with example write command, the storage bus controller 348will cause the one or more commands to multiplied to each of the each ofthe storage I/O buses 210 a-n with the logical address of the commandmapped to a first physical addresses for storage I/O bus 210 a, andmapped to a second physical address for storage I/O bus 210 b, and soforth as further described below.

Typically, bus arbiter 420 selects from among the bank controllers 418and pulls subcommands from output queues within the bank controllers 418and forwards these to the Storage Bus Controller 348 in a sequence thatoptimizes the performance of the banks 214. In another embodiment, thebus arbiter 420 may respond to a high level interrupt and modify thenormal selection criteria. In another embodiment, the master controller224 can control the bus arbiter 420 through the control and statusregisters 340. One of skill in the art will recognize other means bywhich the bus arbiter 420 may control and interleave the sequence ofcommands from the bank controllers 418 to the solid-state storage media110.

The bus arbiter 420 typically coordinates selection of appropriatecommands, and corresponding data when required for the command type,from the bank controllers 418 and sends the commands and data to thestorage bus controller 348. The bus arbiter 420 typically also sendscommands to the storage control bus 212 to select the appropriate bank214. For the case of flash memory or other solid-state storage media 110with an asynchronous, bi-directional serial storage I/O bus 210, onlyone command (control information) or set of data can be transmitted at atime. For example, when write commands or data are being transmitted tothe solid-state storage media 110 on the storage I/O bus 210, readcommands, data being read, erase commands, management commands, or otherstatus commands cannot be transmitted on the storage I/O bus 210. Forexample, when data is being read from the storage I/O bus 210, datacannot be written to the solid-state storage media 110.

For example, during a write operation on bank-0 the bus arbiter 420selects the bank-0 controller 418 a which may have a write command or aseries of write sub-commands on the top of its queue which cause thestorage bus controller 348 to execute the following sequence. The busarbiter 420 forwards the write command to the storage bus controller348, which sets up a write command by selecting bank-0 214 a through thestorage control bus 212, sending a command to clear the input buffers ofthe solid-state storage elements 110 associated with the bank-0 214 a,and sending a command to validate the status of the solid-state storageelements 216, 218, 220 associated with the bank-0 214 a. The storage buscontroller 348 then transmits a write subcommand on the storage I/O bus210, which contains the physical addresses including the address of thelogical erase block for each individual physical erase solid-stagestorage element 216 a-m as mapped from the logical erase block address.The storage bus controller 348 then muxes the write buffer 320 throughthe write sync buffer 308 to the storage 1/O bus 210 through the MUX 350and streams write data to the appropriate page. When the page is full,then storage bus controller 348 causes the solid-state storage elements216 a-m associated with the bank-0 214 a to program the input buffer tothe memory cells within the solid-state storage elements 216 a-m.Finally, the storage bus controller 348 validates the status to ensurethat page was correctly programmed.

A read operation is similar to the write example above. During a readoperation, typically the bus arbiter 420, or other component of the bankinterleave controller 344, receives data and corresponding statusinformation and sends the data to the read data pipeline 108 whilesending the status information on to the control and status registers340. Typically, a read data command forwarded from bus arbiter 420 tothe storage bus controller 348 will cause the MUX 350 to gate the readdata on storage I/O bus 210 to the read data pipeline 108 and sendstatus information to the appropriate control and status registers 340through the status MUX 422.

The bus arbiter 420 coordinates the various command types and dataaccess modes so that only an appropriate command type or correspondingdata is on the bus at any given time. If the bus arbiter 420 hasselected a write command, and write subcommands and corresponding dataare being written to the solid-state storage media 110, the bus arbiter420 will not allow other command types on the storage I/O bus 210.Beneficially, the bus arbiter 420 uses timing information, such aspredicted command execution times, along with status informationreceived concerning bank 214 status to coordinate execution of thevarious commands on the bus with the goal of minimizing or eliminatingidle time of the busses.

The master controller 224 through the bus arbiter 420 typically usesexpected completion times of the commands stored in the queues 410, 412,414, 416, along with status information, so that when the subcommandsassociated with a command are executing on one bank 214 a, othersubcommands of other commands are executing on other banks 214 b-n. Whenone command is fully executed on a bank 214 a, the bus arbiter 420directs another command to the bank 214 a. The bus arbiter 420 may alsocoordinate commands stored in the queues 410, 412, 414, 416 with othercommands that are not stored in the queues 410, 412, 414, 416.

For example, an erase command may be sent out to erase a group of eraseblocks within the solid-state storage media 110. An erase command maytake 10 to 1000 times more time to execute than a write or a readcommand or 10 to 100 times more time to execute than a program command.For N banks 214, the bank interleave controller 344 may split the erasecommand into N commands, each to erase a virtual erase block of a bank214 a. While bank-0 214 a is executing an erase command, the bus arbiter420 may select other commands for execution on the other banks 214 b-n.The bus arbiter 420 may also work with other components, such as thestorage bus controller 348, the master controller 224, etc., tocoordinate command execution among the buses. Coordinating execution ofcommands using the bus arbiter 420, bank controllers 418, queues 410,412, 414, 416, and agents 402, 404, 406, 408 of the bank interleavecontroller 344 can dramatically increase performance over othersolid-state storage systems without a bank interleave function.

In one embodiment, the solid-state controller 104 includes one bankinterleave controller 344 that serves all of the storage elements 216,218, 220 of the solid-state storage media 110. In another embodiment,the solid-state controller 104 includes a bank interleave controller 344for each column of storage elements 216 a-m, 218 a-m, 220 a-m. Forexample, one bank interleave controller 344 serves one column of storageelements SSS 0.0-SSS M.0 216 a, 216 b, . . . 216 m, a second bankinterleave controller 344 serves a second column of storage elements SSS0.1-SSS M.1 218 a, 218 b, . . . 218 m etc.

Storage-Specific Components

The solid-state storage controller 104 includes a synchronization buffer346 that buffers commands and status messages sent and received from thesolid-state storage media 110. The synchronization buffer 346 is locatedat the boundary between the solid-state storage clock domain and thelocal bus clock domain and provides buffering to account for the clockdomain differences. The synchronization buffer 346, writesynchronization buffer 308, and read synchronization buffer 328 may beindependent or may act together to buffer data, commands, statusmessages, etc. In one embodiment, the synchronization buffer 346 islocated where there are the fewest number of signals crossing the clockdomains. One skilled in the art will recognize that synchronizationbetween clock domains may be arbitrarily moved to other locations withinthe cache 102 in order to optimize some aspect of design implementation.

The solid-state storage controller 104 includes a storage bus controller348 that interprets and translates commands for data sent to and readfrom the solid-state storage media 110 and status messages received fromthe solid-state storage media 110 based on the type of solid-statestorage media 110. For example, the storage bus controller 348 may havedifferent timing requirements for different types of storage, storagewith different performance characteristics, storage from differentmanufacturers, etc. The storage bus controller 348 also sends controlcommands to the storage control bus 212.

In one embodiment, the solid-state storage controller 104 includes a MUX350 that comprises an array of multiplexers 350 a-n where eachmultiplexer is dedicated to a row in the solid-state storage array 110.For example, multiplexer 350 a is associated with solid-state storageelements 216 a, 218 a, 220 a. MUX 350 routes the data from the writedata pipeline 106 and commands from the storage bus controller 348 tothe solid-state storage media 110 via the storage I/O bus 210 and routesdata and status messages from the solid-state storage media 110 via thestorage I/O bus 210 to the read data pipeline 108 and the control andstatus registers 340 through the storage bus controller 348,synchronization buffer 346, and bank interleave controller 344.

In one embodiment, the solid-state storage controller 104 includes a MUX350 for each row of solid-state storage elements (e.g. SSS 0.1 216 a,SSS 0.2 218 a, SSS O.N 220 a). A MUX 350 combines data from the writedata pipeline 106 and commands sent to the solid-state storage media 110via the storage I/O bus 210 and separates data to be processed by theread data pipeline 108 from commands. Packets stored in the write buffer320 are directed on busses out of the write buffer 320 through a writesynchronization buffer 308 for each row of solid-state storage elements(SSS x.O to SSS x.N 216, 218, 220) to the MUX 350 for each row ofsolid-state storage elements (SSS x.O to SSS x.N 216, 218, 220). Thecommands and read data are received by the MUXes 350 from the storageI/O bus 210. The MUXes 350 also direct status messages to the storagebus controller 348.

The storage bus controller 348 includes a mapping module 424. Themapping module 424 maps a logical address of an erase block to one ormore physical addresses of an erase block. For example, a solid-statestorage media 110 with an array of twenty storage elements (e.g. SSS 0.0to SSS M.0 216) per block 214 a may have a logical address for aparticular erase block mapped to twenty physical addresses of the eraseblock, one physical address per storage element. Because the storageelements are accessed in parallel, erase blocks at the same position ineach storage element in a row of storage elements 216 a, 218 a, 220 awill share a physical address. To select one erase block (e.g. instorage element SSS 0.0 216 a) instead of all erase blocks in the row(e.g. in storage elements SSS 0.0, 0.1, . . . O.N 216 a, 218 a, 220 a),one bank (in this case bank-0 214 a) is selected.

This logical-to-physical mapping for erase blocks is beneficial becauseif one erase block becomes damaged or inaccessible, the mapping can bechanged to map to another erase block. This mitigates the loss of losingan entire virtual erase block when one element's erase block is faulty.The remapping module 430 changes a mapping of a logical address of anerase block to one or more physical addresses of a virtual erase block(spread over the array of storage elements). For example, virtual eraseblock 1 may be mapped to erase block 1 of storage element SSS 0.0 216 a,to erase block 1 of storage element SSS 1.0 216 b, . . . , and tostorage element M.0 216 m, virtual erase block 2 may be mapped to eraseblock 2 of storage element SSS 0.1 218 a, to erase block 2 of storageelement SSS 1.1 218 b, . . . , and to storage element M.1 218 m, etc.Alternatively, virtual erase block 1 may be mapped to one erase blockfrom each storage element in an array such that virtual erase block 1includes erase block 1 of storage element SSS 0.0 216 a to erase block 1of storage element SSS 1.0 216 b to storage element M.0 216 m, and eraseblock 1 of storage element SSS 0.1 218 a to erase block 1 of storageelement SSS 1.1 218 b, . . . , and to storage element M.1 218 m, foreach storage element in the array up to erase block 1 of storage elementM.N 220 m.

If erase block 1 of a storage element SSS0.0 216 a is damaged,experiencing errors due to wear, etc., or cannot be used for somereason, the remapping module 430 could change the logical-to-physicalmapping for the logical address that pointed to erase block 1 of virtualerase block 1. If a spare erase block (call it erase block 221) ofstorage element SSS O.0 216 a is available and currently not mapped, theremapping module 430 could change the mapping of virtual erase block 1to point to erase block 221 of storage element SSS 0.0 216 a, whilecontinuing to point to erase block 1 of storage element SSS 1.0 216 b,erase block 1 of storage element SSS 2.0 (not shown) . . . , and tostorage element M.0 216 m. The mapping module 424 or remapping module430 could map erase blocks in a prescribed order (virtual erase block 1to erase block 1 of the storage elements, virtual erase block 2 to eraseblock 2 of the storage elements, etc.) or may map erase blocks of thestorage elements 216, 218, 220 in another order based on some othercriteria.

In one embodiment, the erase blocks could be grouped by access time.Grouping by access time, meaning time to execute a command, such asprogramming (writing) data into pages of specific erase blocks, canlevel command completion so that a command executed across the eraseblocks of a virtual erase block is not limited by the slowest eraseblock. In other embodiments, the erase blocks may be grouped by wearlevel, health, etc. One of skill in the art will recognize other factorsto consider when mapping or remapping erase blocks.

In one embodiment, the storage bus controller 348 includes a statuscapture module 426 that receives status messages from the solid-statestorage media 110 and sends the status messages to the status MUX 422.In another embodiment, when the solid-state storage media 110 is flashmemory, the storage bus controller 348 includes a NAND bus controller428. The NAND bus controller 428 directs commands from the read andwrite data pipelines 106, 108 to the correct location in the solid-statestorage media 110, coordinates timing of command execution based oncharacteristics of the flash memory, etc. If the solid-state storagemedia 110 is another solid-state storage type, the NAND bus controller428 would be replaced by a bus controller specific to the storage type.One of skill in the art will recognize other functions of a NAND) buscontroller 428.

Data Caching

FIG. 5 depicts one embodiment of a host device 114. The host device 114may be similar, in certain embodiments, to the host device 114 depictedin FIGS. 1A and 1B. The depicted embodiment includes a user application502 in communication with a storage client 504. The storage client 504is in communication with a direct cache module 116, which, in oneembodiment, is substantially similar to the direct cache module 116 ofFIGS. 1A and 1B, described above. The direct cache module 116, in thedepicted embodiment, is in communication with the cache 102 and thebacking store 118 through the storage controller 104 and the backingstore controller 120.

In one embodiment, the user application 502 is a software applicationoperating on or in conjunction with the storage client 504. The storageclient 504 manages file systems, files, data, and the like and utilizesthe functions and features of the direct cache module 116, the cache102, and the backing store 118. Representative examples of storageclients include, but are not limited to, a server, a file system, anoperating system, a database management system (“DBMS”), a volumemanager, and the like.

In the depicted embodiment, the storage client 504 is in communicationwith the direct cache module 116. In a further embodiment, the storageclient 504 may also be in communication with the cache 102 and/or thebacking store 118 directly. The storage client 504, in one embodiment,reads data from and writes data to the backing store 118 through thedirect cache module 116, which uses the cache 102 to cache read dataand/or write data for the backing store 118. In a further embodiment,the direct cache module 116 caches data in a manner that issubstantially transparent to the storage client 504, with the storageclient 504 sending read requests and write requests directly to thedirect cache module 116.

In one embodiment, the direct cache module 116 has exclusive access toand/or control over the cache 102 and the backing store 118. The directcache module 116 may represent itself to the storage client 504 as astorage device. For example, the direct cache module 116 may representitself as a conventional block storage device, or the like. In aparticular embodiment, the direct cache module 116 may represent itselfto the storage client 504 as a storage device having the same number oflogical blocks (0 to N) as the backing store 118. In another embodiment,the direct cache module 116 may represent itself to the storage client504 as a storage device have the more logical blocks (0 to N+X) as thebacking store 118, where X=the number of logical blocks addressable bythe direct cache module 116 beyond N. In certain embodiments, X=264−N.

As described above with regard to the direct cache module 116 depictedin the embodiments of FIGS. 1A and 1B, in various embodiments, thedirect cache module 116 may be embodied by one or more of a storagecontroller 104 of the cache 102 and/or a backing store controller 120 ofthe backing store 118; a separate hardware controller device thatinterfaces with the cache 102 and the backing store 118; a device driverloaded on the host device 114; and the like.

In one embodiment, the host device 114 loads a device driver for thedirect cache module 116. In a further embodiment, the host device 114loads device drivers for the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118,such as one or more device drivers of the storage controller 104 and/orthe backing store controller 120. The direct cache module 116 maycommunicate with the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 throughdevice drivers loaded on the host device 114, through the storagecontroller 104 of the cache 102 and/or through the backing storecontroller 120 of the backing store 118, or the like.

In one embodiment, the storage client 504 communicates with the directcache module 116 through an Input/Output (“I/O”) interface representedby a block I/O emulation layer 506. In certain embodiments, the factthat the direct cache module 116 is providing caching services in frontof one or more caches 102, and/or one or more backing stores, such asthe backing store 118, may be transparent to the storage client 504. Insuch an embodiment, the direct cache module 116 may present (i.e.,identify itself as) a conventional block device to the storage client504.

In a further embodiment, the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118either include a distinct block I/O emulation layer 506 or may beconventional block storage devices. Certain conventional block storagedevices divide the storage media into volumes or partitions. Each volumeor partition may include a plurality of sectors. One or more sectors areorganized into a logical block. In certain storage systems, such asthose interfacing with the Windows-® operating systems, the logicalblocks are referred to as clusters. In other storage systems, such asthose interfacing with UNIX, Linux, or similar operating systems, thelogical blocks are referred to simply as blocks. A logical block orcluster represents a smallest physical amount of storage space on thestorage media that is addressable by the storage client 504. A blockstorage device may associate n logical blocks available for user datastorage across the storage media with a logical block address, numberedfrom 0 to n. In certain block storage devices, the logical blockaddresses may range from 0 to r per volume or partition. In conventionalblock storage devices, a logical block address maps directly to aparticular logical block. In conventional block storage devices, eachlogical block maps to a particular set of physical sectors on thestorage media.

However, the direct cache module 116, the cache 102 and/or the backingstore 118, in certain embodiments, may not directly or necessarilyassociate logical block addresses with particular physical blocks. Thedirect cache module 116, the cache 102, and/or the backing store 118 mayemulate a conventional block storage interface to maintain compatibilitywith block storage clients 504 and with conventional block storagecommands and protocols.

When the storage client 504 communicates through the block I/O emulationlayer 506, the direct cache module 116 appears to the storage client 504as a conventional block storage device. In one embodiment, the directcache module 116 provides the block I/O emulation layer 506 which servesas a block device interface, or API In this embodiment, the storageclient 504 communicates with the direct cache module 116 through thisblock device interface. In one embodiment, the block I/O emulation layer506 receives commands and logical block addresses from the storageclient 504 in accordance with this block device interface. As a result,the block I/O emulation layer 506 provides the direct cache module 116compatibility with block storage clients 504. In a further embodiment,the direct cache module 116 may communicate with the cache 102 and/orthe backing store 118 using corresponding block device interfaces.

In one embodiment, a storage client 504 communicates with the directcache module 116 through a direct interface layer 508. In thisembodiment, the direct cache module 116 directly exchanges informationspecific to the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 with the storageclient 504. Similarly, the direct cache module 116, in one embodiment,may communicate with the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 throughdirect interface layers 508.

A direct cache module 116 using the direct interface 508 may store dataon the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 as blocks, sectors, pages,logical blocks, logical pages, erase blocks, logical erase blocks, ECCchunks or in any other format or structure advantageous to the technicalcharacteristics of the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118. Forexample, in one embodiment, the backing store 118 comprises a hard diskdrive and the direct cache module 116 stores data on the backing store118 as contiguous sectors of 512 bytes, or the like, using physicalcylinder-head-sector addresses for each sector, logical block addressesfor each sector, or the like. The direct cache module 116 may receive alogical address and a command from the storage client 504 and performthe corresponding operation in relation to the cache 102, and/or thebacking store 118. The direct cache module 116, the cache 102, and/orthe backing store 118 may support a block I/O emulation layer 506, adirect interface 508, or both a block I/O emulation layer 506 and adirect interface 508.

As described above, certain storage devices, while appearing to astorage client 504 to be a block storage device, do not directlyassociate particular logical block addresses with particular physicalblocks, also referred to in the art as sectors. Such storage devices mayuse a logical-to-physical translation layer 510. In the depictedembodiment, the cache 102 includes a logical-to-physical translationlayer 510. In a further embodiment, the backing store 118 may alsoinclude a logical-to-physical translation layer 510. In anotherembodiment, the direct cache module 116 maintains a singlelogical-to-physical translation layer 510 for the cache 102 and thebacking store 118. In another embodiment, the direct cache module 116maintains a distinct logical-to-physical translation layer 510 for eachof the cache 102 and the backing store 118.

The logical-to-physical translation layer 510 provides a level ofabstraction between the logical block addresses used by the storageclient 504 and the physical block addresses at which the cache 102and/or the backing store 118 store the data. In the depicted embodiment,the logical-to-physical translation layer 510 maps logical blockaddresses to physical block addresses of data stored on the media of thecache 102. This mapping allows data to be referenced in a logicaladdress space using logical identifiers, such as a logical blockaddress. A logical identifier does not indicate the physical location ofdata in the cache 102, but is an abstract reference to the data. Themapping module 424 and the remapping module 430 of FIG. 4, discussedabove, are one example of a logical-to-physical translation layer 510.One further example of a logical-to-physical translation layer 510includes the direct mapping module 706 of FIG. 7 discussed below.

In the depicted embodiment, the cache 102 and the backing store 118separately manage physical block addresses in the distinct, separatephysical address spaces of the cache 102 and the backing store 118. Inone example, contiguous logical block addresses may in fact be stored innon-contiguous physical block addresses as the logical-to-physicaltranslation layer 510 determines the location on the physical media 110of the cache 102 at which to perform data operations.

Furthermore, in one embodiment, the logical address space of the cache102 is substantially larger than the physical address space or storagecapacity of the cache 102. This “thinly provisioned” or “sparse addressspace” embodiment, allows the number of logical addresses for datareferences to greatly exceed the number of possible physical addresses.A thinly provisioned and/or sparse address space also allows the cache102 to cache data for a backing store 118 with a larger address space(i.e., a larger storage capacity) than the physical address space of thecache 102.

In one embodiment, the logical-to-physical translation layer 510includes a map or index that maps logical block addresses to physicalblock addresses. The map or index may be in the form of a B-tree, acontent addressable memory (“CAM”), a binary tree, and/or a hash table,and the like. In certain embodiments, the logical-to-physicaltranslation layer 510 is a tree with nodes that represent logical blockaddresses and include references to corresponding physical blockaddresses. Example embodiments of B-tree mapping structure are describedbelow with regard to FIGS. 8, 9, and 10. In certain embodiments, thedirect cache module 116 uses a mapping structure of thelogical-to-physical translation layer 510 to locate ranges of data todestage in backing store address order. The direct cache module 116, inone embodiment, requests data for destaging, in cache log order, backingstore address order, or the like, from the storage controller 104 andthe storage controller 104 returns the data (or references to the data)to the direct cache module 116 for destaging.

As stated above, in conventional block storage devices, a logical blockaddress maps directly to a particular physical block. When a storageclient 504 communicating with the conventional block storage devicedeletes data for a particular logical block address, the storage client504 may note that the particular logical block address is deleted andcan re-use the physical block associated with that deleted logical blockaddress without the need to perform any other action.

Conversely, when a storage client 504, communicating with a storagecontroller 104 or device driver with a logical-to-physical translationlayer 510 (a storage controller 104 or device driver that does not map alogical block address directly to a particular physical block), deletesdata of a logical block address, the corresponding physical blockaddress may remain allocated because the storage client 504 may notcommunicate the change in used blocks to the storage controller 104 ordevice driver. The storage client 504 may not be configured tocommunicate changes in used blocks (also referred to herein as “datablock usage information”). Because the storage client 504, in oneembodiment, uses the block I/O emulation 506 layer, the storage client504 may erroneously believe that the direct cache module 116, the cache102, and/or the backing store 118 is a conventional block storage devicethat would not utilize the data block usage information. Or, in certainembodiments, other software layers between the storage client 504 andthe direct cache module 116, the cache 102, and/or the backing store 118may fail to pass on data block usage information.

Consequently, the storage controller 104 or device driver may preservethe relationship between the logical block address and a physicaladdress and the data on the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118corresponding to the physical block. As the number of allocated blocksincreases, the performance of the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118may suffer depending on the configuration of the cache 102 and/or thebacking store 118.

Specifically, in certain embodiments, the cache 102, and/or the backingstore 118 are configured to store data sequentially, using anappend-only writing process, and use a storage space recovery processthat re-uses non-volatile storage media storing deallocated/unusedlogical blocks. Specifically, as described above, the cache 102, and/orthe backing store 118 may sequentially write data on the solid-statestorage media 110 in a log structured format and within one or morephysical structures of the storage elements, the data is sequentiallystored on the solid-state storage media 110. Those of skill in the artwill recognize that other embodiments that include several caches 102can use the same append-only writing process and storage space recoveryprocess.

As a result of storing data sequentially and using an append-onlywriting process, the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 achieve ahigh write throughput and a high number of I/O operations per second(“IOPS”). The cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 may include astorage space recovery, or garbage collection process that re-uses datastorage cells to provide sufficient storage capacity. The storage spacerecovery process reuses storage cells for logical blocks marked asdeallocated, invalid, unused, or otherwise designated as available forstorage space recovery in the logical-physical translation layer 510. Inone embodiment, the direct cache module 116 marks logical blocks asdeallocated or invalid based on a cache eviction policy, to recoverstorage capacity for caching additional data for the backing store 118.The direct cache module 116, in certain embodiments, selects data thatis either cached read data or destaged, cleaned write data to clear,invalidate, or evict. The storage space recovery process is described ingreater detail below with regard to the garbage collection module 714 ofFIG. 7.

As described above, the storage space recovery process determines that aparticular section of storage may be recovered. Once a section ofstorage has been marked for recovery, the cache 102 and/or the backingstore 118 may relocate valid blocks (e.g. packets, pages, sectors, etc.)in the section. The storage space recovery process, when relocatingvalid blocks, copies the packets and writes them to another location sothat the particular section of storage may be reused as availablestorage space, typically after an erase operation on the particularsection. The cache 102 and/or the backing store 118 may then use theavailable storage space to continue sequentially writing data in anappend-only fashion. Consequently, the storage controller 104 expendsresources and overhead in preserving data in valid blocks. Therefore,physical blocks corresponding to deleted logical blocks may beunnecessarily preserved by the storage controller 104, which expendsunnecessary resources in relocating the physical blocks during storagespace recovery.

The direct cache module 116, in certain embodiments, decreases writeamplification caused by relocating and copying data forward by destagingdata in a cache log order and clearing, invalidating, or evictingcertain clean, destaged data instead of copying the data forward. In afurther embodiment, the direct cache module 116 balances destaging ofdata in cache log order with destaging of data in backing store addressorder to satisfy a destaging pressure or target destaging rate whilemanaging write amplification.

Some storage devices are configured to receive messages or commandsnotifying the storage device of these unused logical blocks so that thestorage device may deallocate the corresponding physical blocks (e.g.the physical storage media 110 storing the unused packets, pages,sectors, etc.). As used herein, to deallocate a physical block includesmarking the physical block as invalid, unused, or otherwise designatingthe physical block as available for storage space recovery, its contentson storage media no longer needing to be preserved by the storagedevice. Data block usage information may also refer to informationmaintained by a storage device regarding which physical blocks areallocated and/or deal located/unallocated and changes in the allocationof physical blocks and/or logical-to-physical block mapping information.Data block usage information may also refer to information maintained bya storage device regarding which blocks are in use and which blocks arenot in use by a storage client 504. Use of a block may include storingof data in the block on behalf of the storage client 504, reserving theblock for use by the storage client 504, and the like.

While physical blocks may be deallocated, in certain embodiments, thecache 102 and/or the backing store 118 may not immediately erase thedata on the storage media. An erase operation may be performed later intime. In certain embodiments, the data in a deallocated physical blockmay be marked as unavailable by the cache 102 and/or the backing store118 such that subsequent requests for data in the physical block returna null result or an empty set of data. In certain embodiments, thedirect cache module 116 evicts and/or invalidates data by deallocatingphysical blocks corresponding to the data in the cache 102.

One example of a command or message for such deallocation is the “TRIM”function is described in greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/711,113 entitled “APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR DATA BLOCKUSAGE INFORMATION SYNCHRONIZATION FOR A NON-VOLATILE STORAGE VOLUME” andfiled on Feb. 23, 2010 and in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/952,113 entitled “APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR MANAGING DATA INA STORAGE DEVICE WITH AN EMPTY DATA TOKEN DIRECTIVE” and filed on Dec.6, 2007, which are incorporated herein by reference. A storage device,upon receiving a TRIM command, may deallocate physical blocks forlogical blocks whose data is no longer needed by the storage client 504.A storage device that deallocates physical blocks may achieve betterperformance and increased storage space, especially storage devices thatwrite data using certain processes and/or use a similar data storagerecovery process as that described above.

Consequently, the performance of the storage device is enhanced asphysical blocks are deallocated when they are no longer needed such asthrough the TRIM command or other similar deallocation commands issuedto the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118. In one embodiment, thedirect cache module 116 clears, trims, and/or evicts cached data fromthe cache 102 based on a cache eviction policy, or the like. As usedherein, clearing, trimming, or evicting data includes deallocatingphysical media associated with the data, marking the data as invalid orunused (using either a logical or physical address of the data), erasingphysical media associated with the data, overwriting the data withdifferent data, issuing a TRIM command or other deallocation commandrelative to the data, or otherwise recovering storage capacity ofphysical storage media corresponding to the data. Cleating cached datafrom the cache 102 based on a cache eviction policy frees storagecapacity in the cache 102 to cache more data for the backing store 118.

The direct cache module 116, in various embodiments, may representitself, the cache 102, and the backing store 118 to the storage client504 in different configurations. In one embodiment, the direct cachemodule 116 may represent itself to the storage client 504 as a singlestorage device (e.g., as the backing store 118, as a storage device witha similar physical capacity as the backing store 118, or the like) andthe cache 102 may be transparent or invisible to the storage client 504.In another embodiment, the direct cache module 116 may represent itselfto the direct cache module 116 as a cache device (e.g., as the cache102, as a cache device with certain cache functions or APIs available,or the like) and the backing store 118 may be separately visible and/oravailable to the storage client 504 (with part of the physical capacityof the backing store 118 reserved for the cache 201). In a furtherembodiment, the direct cache module 116 may represent itself to thestorage client 504 as a hybrid cache/storage device including both thecache 102 and the backing store 118.

Depending on the configuration, the direct cache module 116 may passcertain commands down to the cache 102 and/or to the backing store 118and may not pass down other commands. In a further embodiment, thedirect cache module 116 may support certain custom or new block I/Ocommands. In one embodiment, the direct cache module 116 supports adeallocation or trim command that clears corresponding data from boththe cache 102 and the backing store 118, i.e., the direct cache module116 passes the command to both the cache 102 and the backing store 118.In a further embodiment, the direct cache module 116 supports a flushtype trim or deallocation command that ensures that corresponding datais stored in the backing store 118 (i.e., that the corresponding data inthe cache 102 is clean) and clears the corresponding data from the cache102, without clearing the corresponding data from the backing store 118.In another embodiment, the direct cache module 116 supports an evicttype trim or deallocation command that evicts corresponding data fromthe cache 102, marks corresponding data for eviction in the cache 102,or the like, without clearing the corresponding data from the backingstore 118.

In a further embodiment, the direct cache module 116 may receive,detect, and/or intercept one or more predefined commands that a storageclient 504 or another storage manager sent to the backing store 118,that a storage manager sends to a storage client 504, or the like. Forexample, in various embodiments, the direct cache module 116 or aportion of the direct cache module 116 may be part of a filter driverthat receives or detects the predefined commands, the direct cachemodule 116 may register with an event server to receive a notificationof the predefined commands, or the like. The direct cache module 116, inone embodiment, performs one or more actions on the cache 102 inresponse to detecting the one or more predefined commands for thebacking store 118, such as writing or flushing data related to a commandfrom the cache 102 to the backing store 118, evicting data related to acommand from the cache 102, switching from a write back policy to awrite through policy for data related to a command, or the like.

One example of predefined commands that the direct cache module 116 mayintercept or respond to, in one embodiment, includes a “freeze/thaw”commands. “Freeze/thaw” commands are used in SAN s, storage arrays, andthe like, to suspend storage access, such as access to the backing store118 or the like, to take an snapshot or backup of the storage withoutinterrupting operation of the applications using the storage.“Freeze/thaw” commands alert a storage client 504 that a snapshot isabout to take place, the storage client 504 flushes pending operations,for example in-flight transactions, or data cached in volatile memory,the snapshot takes place while the storage client 504 use of the storageis in a “frozen” or ready state, and once the snapshot is complete thestorage client 504 continues normal use of the storage in response to athaw command.

The direct cache module 116, in one embodiment, flushes or cleans dirtydata from the cache 102 to the backing store 118 in response todetecting a “freeze/thaw” command. In a further embodiment, the directcache module 116 suspends access to the backing store 118 during asnapshot or other backup of a detected “freeze/thaw” command and resumesaccess in response to a completion of the snapshot or other backup. Inanother embodiment, the direct cache module 116 may cache data for thebacking store 118 during a snapshot or other backup without interruptingthe snapshot or other backup procedure. In other words, rather than thebackup/snapshot software signaling the application to quiesce I/Ooperations, the direct cache module 116 receives and responds to thefreeze/thaw commands.

FIG. 6 depicts one embodiment of the direct cache module 116 a. In thedepicted embodiment, the direct cache module 116 a includes a writerequest module 602, a cache write module 604, and a destage module 606.The direct cache module 116 a of FIG.

6, in one embodiment, is substantially similar to the direct cachemodule 116 described above with regard to FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and/or FIG.5. In general, the direct cache module 116 a caches data for the backingstore 118 and destages cached write data to the backing store 118 incache log order and/or in backing store address order.

In one embodiment, the write request module 602 detects one or morewrite requests to store data on the backing store 118. The write requestmodule 602 may detect a write request by receiving the write requestdirectly, detecting a write request sent to a different module or entity(such as detecting a write request sent directly to the backing store118), or the like. In one embodiment, the host device 114 sends thewrite request. The direct cache module 116 a, in one embodiment,represents itself to the host device 114 as a storage device, and thehost device 114 sends write requests directly to the write requestmodule 602.

A write request, in one embodiment, includes data that is not stored onthe backing store 118. Data that is not stored on the backing store 118,in various embodiments, includes new data not yet stored on the backingstore 118, modifications to data that is stored on the backing store118, and the like. The write request, in various embodiments, maydirectly include the data, may include a reference, a pointer, or anaddress for the data, or the like. For example, in one embodiment, thewrite request includes a range of addresses indicating data to be storedon the backing store 118 by way of a Direct Memory Access (“DMA”) orRemote DMA (“RDMA”) operation. In a further embodiment, a single writerequest may include several different contiguous and/or noncontiguousranges of addresses or blocks. In a further embodiment, the writerequest includes one or more destination addresses for the data, such aslogical and/or physical addresses for the data on the cache 102 and/oron the backing store 118. The write request module 602 and/or anothercooperating module, in various embodiments, may retrieve the data of awrite request directly from the write request itself, from a storagelocation referenced by a write request (i.e., from a location in systemmemory or other data storage referenced in a DMA or RDMA request), orthe like.

The cache write module 604, in one embodiment, writes data of a writerequest to the cache 102 to cache the data in the cache 102. The cachewrite module 604, in another embodiment, caches the data of the writerequest to the cache 102 at one or more logical addresses of the cache102 corresponding to one or more backing store addresses of the writerequest. In one embodiment, the cache write module 604 caches the datato the cache 102 by appending the data to a sequential, log-basedwriting structure preserved in the physical storage media 110 of thecache 102 at an append point. The cache write module 604, in oneembodiment, returns one or more physical addresses corresponding to alocation of the append point at which the data was appended to a directmapping module such as the direct mapping module 706 described belowwith regard to FIG. 7, which maps the one or more logical addresses ofthe cache 102 to the one or more physical addresses corresponding to theappend point.

The destage module 606, in one embodiment, destages cached data from thecache 102 to the backing store 118. The destage module 606 destages datato the backing store 118 by copying, writing, storing, or otherwisepersisting the data in the backing store 118. The destage module 606destages dirty write data that the backing store 118 does not yet store.Data that is stored in the cache 102 that is not yet stored in thebacking store 118 is referred to as “dirty” data. Once the backing store118 stores data, the data is referred to as “clean.” The destage module606 destages or cleans data in the cache 102 by writing the data to thebacking store 118. In certain embodiments, the destage module 606 mayalso destage some clean data that the backing store 118 already stores,such as clean data that is within a range of dirty data, an entireregion or block of data to obviate the need for tracking clean and dirtydata within the region, or the like.

In one embodiment, the destage module 606 destages data from the cache102 to the backing store 118 in a cache log order. As described abovewith regard to the cache 102 of FIGS. 1A and 1B, the cache log order isan order in which data is organized within or appended to a log of thecache 102, such as oldest to newest or the like. In a furtherembodiment, the destage module 606 destages data from the cache 102 tothe backing store 118 in a sequential backing store address order. Asdescribed above with regard to the cache 102 of FIGS. 1A and 1B, thesequential backing store address order, in certain embodiments,comprises one or more ranges of address contiguous data that issequentially ordered by backing store address.

In one embodiment, the destage module 606 traverses a log of the cache102 to select data to destage in cache log order. The destage module606, in certain embodiments, destages data in cache log order region byregion. A region may include an erase block such as an LEB, a page, ablock, a sector, a packet, or another discrete segment of data. Thedestage module 606, in one embodiment, traverses the log from one regionto a neighboring region. In various embodiments, regions in a log may bephysical neighbors in the storage media 110, logical neighbors in a datastructure of the log, or the like. For example, the destage module 606,in one embodiment, may follow logical pointers or references from regionto neighboring region in cache log order to destage data. As discussedbelow with regard to the re-order module 726 of FIG. 7, in oneembodiment, the destage module 606 may re-order data within a region fordestaging. For example, the destage module 606 may destage regions incache log order, but may re-order data within the region by backingstore address order.

In one embodiment, the destage module 606 traverses a mapping structureor cache index that maps backing store addresses to locations onphysical storage media of the cache 102 to select ranges of data todestage in backing store address order. The destage module 606, in oneembodiment, may traverse the mapping structure in backing store addressorder and destage ranges of data in backing store address order. Inanother embodiment, the destage module 606 may traverse the mappingstructure in a different order, such as by level in a tree, by frequencyof access in order to destage the least accessed or “coldest” datafirst, or in another order. For example, in certain embodiments, thedestage module 606 may access the mapping structure in an order that isbased on access statistics for the mapping structure, or the like.

In one embodiment, the destage module 606 selects a destage data rangeof data for destaging in a backing store address order such that membersof the data range have contiguous and sequential backing storeaddresses. In a further embodiment, the destage module 606 selectsdestage data ranges based on a predefined sequential threshold,selecting destage data ranges that have at least the predefinedsequential threshold amount of contiguous and sequential backing storeaddresses for destaging.

As discussed in greater detail below with regard to the dirty indicatormodule 712 of FIG. 7, in certain embodiments, the destage module 606accesses one or more dirty data indicators to determine which data inthe cache 102 is dirty and a candidate for destaging. In one embodiment,the destage module 606 destages in a cache log order, and the dirty dataindicator includes a pointer indicating a current destage point, anduser write data to one side of the pointer is clean while user writedata to the other side of the pointer is dirty. One example of a pointerindicating a current destage point is described below with regard toFIG. 10. In other embodiments, a dirty data indicator may include one ormore flags, one or more bit fields, one or more bit arrays, or the like.

Dirty data indicators, in various embodiments, may be stored in amapping structure, in a reverse map, in volatile memory of the cache 102or the host device 114, in a region of data such as an erase block or apacket, and/or in other data storage accessible to the destage module606. In a further embodiment, the destage module 606 may store dirtyindicators on volatile memory and may also store at least enoughinformation to reconstruct the dirty indicators in the storage media 110of the cache 102. In one embodiment, the destage module 606 updates oneor more dirty data indicators in response to successfully destaging datato the backing store 118 so that the one or more dirty data indicatorsindicate that the destaged data is clean.

The destage module 606, in one embodiment, may determine an address forselected destage data in the backing store 118 based on a write requestcorresponding to the data. In a further embodiment, the destage module606 determines an address for destage data in the backing store 118based on a logical address of the data in the cache 102, based on acache index, a mapping structure, or the like. In another embodiment,the destage module 606 uses a reverse map or the like to determine anaddress for destage data in the backing store 118 based on a physicaladdress of the data in the cache 102.

The destage module 606, in one embodiment, writes data to the backingstore 118 based on a write policy. In one embodiment, the destage module606 uses a write-back write policy, and does not immediately write dataof a write request to the backing store 118 upon detecting the writerequest. Instead, the destage module 606, in one embodiment, performs anopportunistic or “lazy” write, destaging data to the backing store 118when the data is evicted from the cache 102, when the cache 102 and/orthe direct cache module 116 has a light load, when available storagecapacity in the cache 102 falls below a threshold, to satisfy adestaging pressure or target destage rate, or the like. In certainwrite-back embodiments, the destage module 606 may read data from thecache 102 and write the data to the backing store 118.

In another embodiment, instead of cleaning data according to awrite-back write policy, the destage module 606 uses a write-throughpolicy, performing a synchronous write to the backing store 118 for eachwrite request that the write request module 602 receives. The destagemodule 606, in one embodiment, transitions from a write-back to awrite-through write policy in response to a predefined error condition,such as an error or failure of the cache 102, or the like.

In one embodiment, the destage module 606 does not invalidate or evictdestaged data from the cache 102, but destaged data remains in the cache102 to service read requests until the destaged data is evicted from thecache by a separate eviction process. In a further embodiment, thedestage module 606 may invalidate, clear, or evict destaged data fromthe cache 102 once the backing store 118 stores the data. In certainembodiments, evicting data upon destaging may lead to an increase incache misses, but may also increase a speed or efficiency of garbagecollection/grooming of the cache 102.

In one embodiment, described in greater detail below with regard to FIG.7, the destage module 606 destages a portion of dirty data in cache logorder and a portion of dirty data in backing store address order. Thedestage module 606, in a further embodiment, adjusts a ratio, dutycycle, or the like of destaging in cache log order and in backing storeaddress order to satisfy a destaging pressure, a destaging target, orthe like.

FIG. 7 depicts another embodiment of the direct cache module 116 b. Inthe depicted embodiment, the direct cache module 116 b includes theblock I/O emulation layer 508, the direct interface layer 510, the writerequest module 602, the cache write module 604, and the destage module606, substantially as described above with regard to FIGS. 5 and 6. Thedirect cache module 116 b, in the depicted embodiment, further includesa destaging pressure module 702, a destaging rate module 704, a directmapping module 706, a recent data module 708, a multiple append pointmodule 710, a dirty indicator module 712, a garbage collection module714, an eviction module 716, a read request module 718, and a backingstore interface module 720. The direct cache module 116 b, in certainembodiments, may be substantially similar to the direct cache module 116of FIGS. 1A and 1B, the direct cache module 116 of FIG. 5, and thedirect cache module 116 b of FIG. 6.

In the depicted embodiment, the destage module 606 includes a log ordermodule 722, an address order module 724, and a re-order module 726. Inone embodiment, the log order module 722 destages at least a portion ofdirty data from the cache 102 to the backing store 118 in a cache logorder and the address order module 724 destages at least a portion ofdirty data from the cache 102 to the backing store 118 in a backingstore address order.

In a cache log order, the backing store addresses of the data may besomewhat random or unorganized due to an order in which the host device114, a user application 502, a storage client 504, or the like writesthe data. As described above with regard to FIGS. 1A and 1B, in certainembodiments, the backing store 118 may have a lower write rate whendestaging in cache log order than when destaging in backing storeaddress order, due to write head seek times, or the like. Destaging incache log order, however, in certain embodiments, may be more efficientfor the cache 102. For example, older data on the log may be more likelyto be groomed by the garbage collection module 714 and destaging thedata prior to grooming may reduce write amplification because destageddata may be selectively evicted from the cache 102 instead of writtenforward on the log.

To take advantage of these different efficiencies, in certainembodiments, the destage module 606 manages a ratio, duty cycle, or thelike of destaging in cache log order using the log order module 722 anddestaging in backing store address order using the address order module724. As described below with regard to the destaging pressure module 702and the destaging rate module 704, in one embodiment, the destage module606 uses the log order module 722 and/or the address order module 724 todestage data at a destaging rate that satisfies a destaging pressure forthe cache 102.

In one embodiment, the log order module 722 destages dirty data regionby region with the regions ordered in cache log order. In a furtherembodiment, the regions are the same size, granularity, or type ofregion groomed by the garbage collection module 714, such as eraseblocks (e.g. LEBs, PEBs, etc.), pages, packets, or the like. Destagingdata at the same size granularity as the units the garbage collectionmodule 714 uses to groom the data, in certain embodiments, may be moreefficient for the grooming process. In certain embodiments, reasons forthis improved efficiency are because the log order module 722 destagesdirty data for an entire region, write amplification may be decreased,and the like. In another embodiment, the log order module 722 maydestage regions of a different size, granularity, or type than thegarbage collection module 714 grooms.

In one embodiment, once the log order module 722 selects a region fordestaging in cache log order, the re-order module 726 re-orders datastored in the selected region to a backing store address order.Re-ordering (or pre-ordering) data of a region for destaging, in certainembodiments, may increase the write rate of the backing store 118 whendestaging the region, even if the log order module 722 destages theregions themselves in cache log order. The re-order module 726, in oneembodiment, sends the data of a region to a buffer, a queue, or the likein backing store address order for destaging to the backing store 118.

As described above, in one embodiment, the type of region is selectedbased on a size, granularity, or type of region that the garbagecollection module 714 grooms. In another embodiment, the re-order module726 re-orders a region of a different size, granularity, or type thanthe garbage collection module 714 grooms. For example, in oneembodiment, the log order module 722 may select a region of the log todestage, such as a quarter, a half or another portion of the log, andthe re-order module 726 may re-order dirty data for the selected region.The re-order module 726, in various embodiments, may re-order data of aregion by packet, by sector, by block, by page, or the like.

In one embodiment, the destaging pressure module 702 determines adestaging pressure for the cache 102. The destaging pressure, in oneembodiment, is a level of demand for destaging cached data of the cache102. The destaging pressure module 702, in a further embodiment,determines a destaging pressure based on a difference between an actualamount of dirty write data in the cache 102 and a target amount of dirtywrite data in the cache 102. For example, the destaging pressure module702 may use a predefined destaging pressure scale with a higherdestaging pressure as the actual amount of dirty write data approaches,exceeds, or has another predefined relationship with the target amountof dirty write data. Destaging pressure comprises a level of importanceor priority for performing destaging operations.

The target amount of dirty write data, in various embodiments, may be amaximum amount of dirty write data, an optimal or desired amount ofdirty write data, or the like. In one embodiment, the target amount ofdirty write data is user defined. In another embodiment, the directcache module 116 b dynamically adjusts the target amount of dirty writedata based on usage conditions of the cache 102 such as hit and missrates for read data, write data, dirty data, clean data, and the like, apercentage of the cache 102 that stores data, or on other usageconditions. In one embodiment, the destaging pressure module 702maintains a count or tally of the actual amount of dirty write data forthe cache 102, adding to the count or tally as write data is cached inthe cache 102 and subtracting from the count or tally as data isdestaged to the backing store 118. In other embodiments, the destagingpressure module 702 may receive an indicator of the actual amount ofdirty write data from the dirty indicator module 712, from the storagecontroller 104, or the like.

In one embodiment, the destaging rate module 704 adjusts a destagingrate for the cache 102 by adjusting a ratio of data to destage in cachelog order using the log order module 722 to data to destage in backingstore address order using the address order module 724. In a furtherembodiment, the destaging rate module 704 adjusts the destaging rate tosatisfy the destaging pressure determined by the destaging pressuremodule 702. The destaging rate of the cache 102, in one embodiment, isthe amount of data (in bytes or other data units) that the destagemodule 606 destages to the backing store 118 per unit of time.

In various embodiments, the destaging rate may satisfy the destagingpressure by moving the actual amount of dirty write data below thetarget amount of dirty write data, moving the actual amount of dirtywrite data within or below the target amount of dirty write data, orcausing the actual amount of dirty write data to have another predefinedrelationship with respect to the target amount of dirty write data. Inone embodiment, the destaging pressure module 702 and the destaging ratemodule 704 comprise a difference controller that receives the actualamount of dirty data and the target amount of dirty data and adjusts thedestaging rate based on the difference between the actual and targetamounts.

The destaging rate module 704, in one embodiment, toggles or alternatesbetween destaging in cache log order using the log order module 722 anddestaging in backing store address order using the address order module724, to satisfy the destaging pressure. In an embodiment where thedestaging rate module 704 toggles or alternates between destagingorders, the ratio of the orders may determine the duty cycle of time(number of cycles) spent destaging in cache log order and in backingstore address order. In another embodiment where the destaging ratemodule 704 toggles or alternates between destaging orders, proportionsof time spent destaging in cache log order versus destaging in backingstore address order may be varied. For example, the time spent duringdestaging using one destaging order versus another order may be divided60% to 40%. In addition, or alternatively, the destaging rate module 704may change this proportion based on characteristics of the cache 102,the flash solid-state storage media 110, or the backing store 118.

In another embodiment, the destaging rate module 704 may determine aratio that satisfies the destaging pressure by destaging in cache logorder using the log order module 722 until the destaging pressuresatisfies a predefined destaging pressure criteria, and destaging in thebacking store address order using the address order module 724 inresponse to the destaging pressure satisfying the predefined destagingpressure criteria, or the like. A predefined destaging pressurecriteria, in one embodiment, includes one or more rules, policies,and/or thresholds that trigger a change in the destaging operations ofthe cache 102. A predefined destaging pressure criteria may be based ona destage rate or other property associated with a destaging algorithm,characteristics of the cache 102, characteristics of the solid-statestorage media 110, characteristics of the backing store 118, or thelike. In one embodiment, the destaging rate module 704 may destage inbacking store address order using the address order module 724 until thedestaging pressure exceeds, falls below or otherwise satisfies thepredefined destaging pressure criteria or threshold. The destaging ratemodule 704 may use the destaging pressure itself, a scaled or weightedproduct of the destaging pressure, an integral of the destagingpressure, or another criteria related to the destaging pressure as apredefined destaging pressure criteria.

In one embodiment, the destaging rate module 704 may destage data incache log order using the log order module 722 and in backing storeaddress order using the address order module 724 simultaneously inparallel. In a simultaneous or parallel embodiment, the destaging ratemodule 704 may adjust the ratio of cache log order destaging to backingstore address order destaging by adjusting or throttling individualdestaging rates of the log order module 722 and the address order module724, or the like.

The direct mapping module 706, in one embodiment, directly maps logicalor physical addresses of the backing store 118 (“backing storeaddresses”) to logical addresses of the cache 102 and directly mapslogical addresses of the cache 102 to the backing store addresses of thebacking store 118. As used herein, direct mapping of addresses meansthat for a given address in a first address space there is exactly onecorresponding address in a second address space with no translation ormanipulation of the address to get from an address in the first addressspace to the corresponding address in the second address space. Thedirect mapping module 706, in a further embodiment, maps backing storeaddresses to logical addresses of the cache 102 such that each backingstore 118 address has a one to one relationship with a logical addressof the cache 102. As described above, in one embodiment, the logicaladdresses of the cache 102 are independent of the physical addresses ofthe physical storage media 110 for the cache 102 and the physicaladdresses of the physical storage media 110 of the cache 102 are fullyassociative with backing store addresses of the backing store 118.

In one embodiment, the direct mapping module 706 maps the backing storeaddresses directly to logical addresses of the cache 102 so that thebacking store addresses of the backing store 118 and the logicaladdresses of the cache 102 are equal or equivalent. In one example ofthis embodiment, the backing store addresses and the logical addressesof the cache 102 share a lower range of the logical address space of thecache 102, such as addresses between about 0-232, or the like.

In one embodiment, the direct mapping module 706 directly maps logicaladdresses of the cache 102 to physical addresses and/or locations on thephysical storage media 110 of the cache 102. In a further embodiment,the direct mapping module 706 uses a single mapping structure to mapbacking store addresses to logical addresses of the cache 102 and to maplogical addresses of the cache 102 to locations on the physical storagemedia 110 of the cache 102. The mapping structure, in variousembodiments, may include a B-tree, B*-tree, B+-tree, a CAM, a binarytree, a hash table, an index, an array, a linked-list, a look-up table,or another mapping data structure.

Use of a B-tree as the mapping structure m certain embodiments, isparticularly advantageous where the logical address space presented tothe client is a very large address space (such as 264 addressable blocksor the like—which may or may not be sparsely populated). Because B-treesmaintain an ordered structure, searching such a large space remains veryfast. Example embodiments of a B-tree as a mapping structure aredescribed in greater detail with regard to FIGS. 8, 9, and 10. Forexample, in one embodiment, the mapping structure includes a B-tree withmultiple nodes and each node may store several entries. In the exampleembodiment, each entry may map a variable sized range of logicaladdresses of the cache 102 to a location (such as a starting location)on the physical storage media 110 of the cache 102. Furthermore, thenumber of nodes in the B-tree may vary as the B-tree grows wider and/ordeeper.

In one embodiment, the mapping structure of the direct mapping module706 only includes a node or entry for logical addresses of the cache 102that are associated with currently cached data in the cache 102. In thisembodiment, membership in the mapping structure represents membership inthe cache 102. The direct mapping module 706, in one embodiment, addsentries, nodes, and the like to the mapping structure as data is storedin the cache and removes entries, nodes, and the like from the mappingstructure in response to data being evicted, cleared, trimmed, orotherwise removed from the cache 102.

Similarly, membership in the mapping structure may represent validallocated blocks on the solid-state storage media 110. The solid-statestorage controller 104 (and/or the direct mapping module 706), in oneembodiment, adds entries, nodes, and the like to the mapping structureas data is stored on the solid-state storage media 110 and removesentries, nodes, and the like from the mapping structure in response todata being invalidated cleared, trimmed, or otherwise removed from thesolid-state storage media 110. In the case where the mapping structureis shared for both cache management and data storage management on thesolid-state storage media 110, the dirty indicator module 712 describedbelow, in certain embodiments, may also track whether the data is dirtyor not to determine whether the data is persisted on the backing store118. The address order module 724, in a further embodiment, may alsotraverse the mapping structure to locate ranges of data in backing storeaddress order, may request ranges of data in backing store address orderfrom the direct mapping module 706, or the like.

In a further embodiment, the mapping structure of the direct mappingmodule 706 may include one or more nodes or entries for logicaladdresses of the cache 102 that are not associated with data currentlystored in the cache 102, but that are associated with addresses of thebacking store 118 that currently store data. The nodes or entries forlogical addresses of the cache 102 that are not associated with datacurrently stored in the cache 102, in one embodiment, are not mapped tolocations on the physical storage media 110 of the cache 102, butinclude a reference or indicator that the cache 102 does not store datacorresponding to the logical addresses. The nodes or entries, in afurther embodiment, may include information that the data resides in thebacking store 118. For example, in certain embodiments, the mappingstructure of the direct mapping module 706 may include nodes or entriesfor read misses, data of which the backing store 118 stores but thecache 102 does not currently store.

Nodes, entries, records, or the like of the mapping structure, in oneembodiment, may include information (such as physical addresses,offsets, indicators, etc.) directly, as part of the mapping structure,or may include pointers, references, or the like for locatinginformation in memory, in a table, or in another data structure. Thedirect mapping module 706, in one embodiment, optimizes the mappingstructure by monitoring the shape of the mapping structure, monitoringthe size of the mapping structure, balancing the mapping structure,enforcing one or more predefined rules with regard to the mappingstructure, ensuring that leaf nodes of the mapping structure are at thesame depth, combining nodes, splitting nodes, and/or otherwiseoptimizing the mapping structure.

The direct mapping module 706, in one embodiment, stores the mappingstructure on the solid-state storage media 110 of the cache 102. Bystoring the mapping structure on the cache 102, in a further embodiment,the mapping of addresses of the backing store 118 to the logicaladdresses of the cache 102 and/or the mapping of the logical addressesof the cache 102 to locations on the physical storage media 110 of thecache 102 are persistent, even if the cache 102 is subsequently pairedwith a different host device 114. In one embodiment, the backing store118 is also subsequently paired with the different host device 114. In afurther embodiment, the cache 102 rebuilds or restores at least aportion of data from the backing store 118 on a new backing storestorage device associated with the different host device 114, based onthe mapping structure and data stored on the cache 102.

In one embodiment, the recent data module 708 prevents destaging of datawithin a predefined distance of an append point of the log of the cache102. In certain embodiments, data within a predefined distance of theappend point (e.g. the newest data on the log) may be more likely to beinvalidated by a new write to the same corresponding backing storeaddresses. Data that is invalidated or logically overwritten by asubsequent write does not need to be destaged. The recent data module708, in one embodiment, prevents the destage module 606 from destagingdata within a most recent region adjacent to the append point to reducethe amount of dirty data that is destaged and subsequently invalidatedor logically overwritten by a subsequent write. The recent data module708, in various embodiments, may prevent the destage module 606 fromdestaging data within a predefined distance of an append point byverifying data eligibility for destaging for the destage module 606prior to the destage module 606 destaging the data, by locking data fromdestaging using a locking data structure, by maintaining a destagabledata table or other data structure for the destage module 606, or thelike.

In one embodiment, the multiple append point module 710 maintainsmultiple append points for the log (or maintains multiple logs) of thecache 102. The multiple append points, in various embodiments, may befor a single log, for multiple sub-logs, for multiple separate logs, orthe like. In a further embodiment, at least one append point is forwriting dirty data and at least one append point is for writing cleandata. In one embodiment, once the destage module 606 destages data froma dirty data portion of a log or a dirty data sub-log, the evictionmodule 716 may invalidate or evict the clean data and reclaim thecorresponding storage space. Alternatively, the garbage collectionmodule 714 may copy the clean data to a clean data portion of the log ora clean data sub-log. By using separate append points and/or logs tostore dirty data and clean data, in certain embodiments, tracking dirtyand clean data is simplified and may use little or no metadata overhead,or tracking data structures.

In one embodiment, the dirty indicator module 712 sets an indicator thatthe destage module 606 has destaged data to the backing store 118, suchas the dirty data indicator described above with regard to FIG. 6 or thelike, to track which data is clean and which data is dirty. The dirtyindicator module 712, in one embodiment, sets the indicator that thebacking store 118 stores the data once the destage module 606 hassuccessfully written the data to the backing store 118. Setting theindicator (dirty/clean indicator) that the backing store 118 stores thedata, in one embodiment, prevents the destage module 606 from destagingdata a second time once the destage module 606 has already destaged thedata. In a further embodiment, setting the indicator that the backingstore 118 stores the data may alert a garbage collection or groomingprocess, such as the garbage collection module 714, that the data may becleared from the cache 102 and/or alert an eviction process, such as theeviction module 716, that the data may be evicted from the cache 102, orthe like.

In one embodiment, the dirty indicator module 712 sets an indicator thatthe backing store 118 stores data by marking the data as clean in thecache 102. In a further embodiment, the dirty indicator module 712 mayset an indicator that the backing store 118 stores data by communicatingan address of the data to the direct mapping module 706 or by sending arequest to the direct mapping module 706 to update an indicator in alogical to physical mapping or other mapping structure. In anotherembodiment, the dirty indicator module 712 may set an indicator that thebacking store 118 stores data by updating one or more indicators for aregion of data in the cache 102, or the like. For example, in certainembodiments, the dirty indicator module 712 may maintain a bit field orbit array for one or more regions of the cache 102 representing whichdata is dirty and which data is clean within the one or more regions. Inthe bit fields or bit arrays, in one embodiment, each bit represents apacket, a page, a sector, a block, a range of data, or the like within aregion, with one binary state indicating that the packet, page, sector,block, or range of data is dirty and the other binary state representingthat the packet, page, sector, block, or range of data is clean.

In one embodiment, where the destage module 606 uses the log ordermodule 722 for destaging data in a cache log order, the dirty indicatormodule 712 may set an indicator that the backing store 118 stores databy moving a pointer representing a current destage point in the log. Asdescribed above, in certain embodiments, user write data to one side ofthe pointer may be dirty and user write data to the other side of thepointer may be clean. One embodiment of a pointer for a current destagepoint is depicted in FIG. 10. One of skill in the art, in light of thisdisclosure, will recognize other manners in which the dirty indicatormodule 712 may track dirty and clean data.

In one embodiment, the garbage collection module 714 recovers storagecapacity of physical storage media 110 corresponding to data that ismarked as invalid, such as data destaged by the destage module 606and/or evicted by the eviction module 716. The garbage collection module714, in one embodiment, recovers storage capacity of physical storagemedia corresponding to data that the destage module 606 has cleaned andthat the eviction module 716 has evicted, or that has been otherwisemarked as invalid. In one embodiment, the garbage collection module 714allows clean data to remain in the cache 102 as long as possible untilthe eviction module 716 evicts the data or the data is otherwise markedas invalid, to decrease the number of cache misses.

In one embodiment, the garbage collection module 714 recovers storagecapacity of physical storage media corresponding to invalid dataopportunistically. For example, the garbage collection module 714 mayrecover storage capacity in response to a lack of available storagecapacity, a percentage of data marked as invalid reaching a predefinedthreshold level, a consolidation of valid data, an error detection ratefor a section of physical storage media reaching a threshold value,performance crossing a threshold value, a scheduled garbage collectioncycle, identifying a section of the physical storage media 110 with ahigh amount of invalid data, identifying a section of the physicalstorage media 110 with a low amount of wear, or the like.

In one embodiment, the garbage collection module 714 relocates validdata that is in a section of the physical storage media 110 in the cache102 that the garbage collection module 714 is recovering to preserve thevalid data. The garbage collection module 714, in a further embodiment,relocates or copies forward dirty data that has not been destaged upongrooming the dirty data to preserve the dirty data. In anotherembodiment, the garbage collection module 714 may selectively relocateor copy forward clean data that has already been destaged. In oneembodiment, the eviction module 716 determines which clean data torelocate and which clean data to erase without relocating. Erasing datawithout relocating the data evicts the data from the cache 102. Thegarbage collection module 714 and/or the eviction module 716, in oneembodiment, may select which clean data remains in the cache and whichclean data is evicted based on an eviction policy, a determined cost forthe clean data, a frequency of use for the clean data, or the like. Inanother embodiment, the garbage collection module 714 clears or erasesall clean data in a section of the physical storage media 110 that thegarbage collection module 714 has selected for grooming.

In one embodiment, the garbage collection module 714 is part of anautonomous garbage collector system that operates within the cache 102.This allows the cache 102 to manage data so that data is systematicallyspread throughout the solid-state storage media 110, or other physicalstorage media, to improve performance, data reliability and to avoidoveruse and underuse of any one location or area of the solid-statestorage media 110 and to lengthen the useful life of the solid-statestorage media 110.

The garbage collection module 714, upon recovering a section of thephysical storage media 110, allows the cache 102 to re-use the sectionof the physical storage media 110 to store different data. In oneembodiment, the garbage collection module 714 adds the recovered sectionof physical storage media to an available storage pool for the cache102, or the like. The garbage collection module 714, in one embodiment,erases existing data in a recovered section. In a further embodiment,the garbage collection module 714 allows the cache 102 to overwriteexisting data in a recovered section. Whether or not the garbagecollection module 714, in one embodiment, erases existing data in arecovered section may depend on the nature of the physical storagemedia. For example, Flash media requires that cells be erased prior toreuse where magnetic media such as hard drives does not have thatrequirement. In an embodiment where the garbage collection module 714does not erase data in a recovered section, but allows the cache 102 tooverwrite data in the recovered section, the garbage collection module714, in certain embodiments, may mark the data in the recovered sectionas unavailable to service read requests so that subsequent requests fordata in the recovered section return a null result or an empty set ofdata until the cache 102 overwrites the data.

In one embodiment, the garbage collection module 714 recovers storagecapacity of the cache 102 one or more storage divisions at a time. Astorage division, in one embodiment, is an erase block or otherpredefined division. For flash memory, an erase operation on an eraseblock writes ones to every bit in the erase block. This is a lengthyprocess compared to a program operation which starts with a locationbeing all ones, and as data is written, some bits are changed to zero.However, where the solid-state storage 110 is not flash memory or hasflash memory where an erase cycle takes a similar amount of time asother operations, such as a read or a program, the eviction module 716may erase the data of a storage division as it evicts data, instead ofthe garbage collection module 714.

In one embodiment, allowing the eviction module 716 to mark data asinvalid rather than actually erasing the data and allowing the garbagecollection module 714 to recover the physical media associated withinvalid data, increases efficiency because, as mentioned above, forflash memory and other similar storage an erase operation takes asignificant amount of time. Allowing the garbage collection module 714to operate autonomously and opportunistically within the cache 102provides a way to separate erase operations from reads, writes, andother faster operations so that the cache 102 operates very efficiently.

In one embodiment, the garbage collection module 714 is integrated withand/or works in conjunction with the destage module 606 and/or theeviction module 716. For example, the garbage collection module 714, inone embodiment, clears data from the cache 102 in response to anindicator that the storage device stores the data (i.e., that thedestage module 606 has cleaned the data) based on a cache evictionpolicy (i.e., in response to the eviction module 716 evicting the data).The eviction module 716, in one embodiment, evicts data by marking thedata as invalid. In other embodiments, the eviction module 716 may evictdata by erasing the data, overwriting the data, trimming the data,deallocating physical storage media associated with the data, orotherwise clearing the data from the cache 102.

The eviction module 716, in one embodiment, evicts data from the cache102 based on a cache eviction policy. The cache eviction policy, in oneembodiment, is based on a combination or a comparison of one or morecache eviction factors. In one embodiment, the cache eviction factorsinclude wear leveling of the physical storage media 110. In anotherembodiment, the cache eviction factors include a determined reliabilityof a section of the physical storage media 110. In a further embodiment,the cache eviction factors include a failure of a section of thephysical storage media 110. The cache eviction factors, in oneembodiment, include a least recently used (“LRU”) block of data. Inanother embodiment, the cache eviction factors include a frequency ofaccess of a block of data, i.e., how “hot” or “cold” a block of data is.In one embodiment, the cache eviction factors include a position of ablock of data in the physical storage media 110 relative to other “hot”data. In a further embodiment, the cache eviction factors include anamount of read data in a block, an amount of write data in a block, anamount of dirty data in a block, an amount of clean data in a block,and/or other data composition factors for a block. One of skill in theart, in light of this disclosure, will recognize other cache evictionfactors suitable for use in the cache eviction policy.

In one embodiment, the direct mapping module 706 determines one or moreof the cache eviction factors based on a history of access to themapping structure. The direct mapping module 706, in a furtherembodiment, identifies areas of high frequency, “hot,” use and/or lowfrequency, “cold,” use by monitoring accesses of branches or nodes inthe mapping structure. The direct mapping module 706, in a furtherembodiment, determines a count or frequency of access to a branch,directed edge, or node in the mapping structure. In one embodiment, acount associated with each node of ab-tree like mapping structure may beincremented for each I/O read operation and/or each I/O write operationthat visits the node in a traversal of the mapping structure. Of course,separate read counts and write counts may be maintained for each node.Certain counts may be aggregated to different levels in the mappingstructure in other embodiments. The eviction module 716, in oneembodiment, evicts data from the cache 102 intelligently and/oropportunistically based on activity in the mapping structure monitoredby the direct mapping module 706, based on information about thephysical storage media 110, and/or based on other cache evictionfactors.

In a further embodiment, the eviction module 716 combines one or morecache eviction factors for a block of data or region of the cache 102 toform an eviction cost for the block, and compares the eviction costs ofdifferent blocks to determine which block to evict. In one embodiment,the eviction module 716 interfaces with the garbage collection module714, and sends a selected block (such as an LEB, or the like) to thegarbage collection module 714 for grooming, as described above. Inanother embodiment, the garbage collection module 714 erases clean datathat has already been destaged in a block received from the evictionmodule 716 without relocating the clean data, effectively evicting theclean data of the selected block from the cache 102.

The direct mapping module 706, the eviction module 716, and/or thegarbage collection module 714, in one embodiment, share information toincrease the efficiency of the cache 102, to reduce cache misses, tomake intelligent eviction decisions, and the like. In one embodiment,the direct mapping module 706 tracks or monitors a frequency that I/Orequests access logical addresses in the mapping structure. The directmapping module 706, in a further embodiment, stores the access frequencyinformation in the mapping structure, communicates the access frequencyinformation to the eviction module 716 and/or to the garbage collectionmodule 714, or the like. The direct mapping module 706, in anotherembodiment, may track, collect, or monitor other usage/access statisticsrelating to the logical to physical mapping of addresses for the cache102 and/or relating to the mapping between the logical address space ofthe cache 102 and the address space of the backing store 118, and mayshare that data with the eviction module 716 and/or with the garbagecollection module 714.

One example of a benefit of sharing information between the destagemodule 606, the direct mapping module 706, the eviction module 716, andthe garbage collection module 714, in certain embodiments, is that writeamplification can be reduced. As described above, in one embodiment, thegarbage collection module 714 copies any valid data in an erase blockforward to the current append point of the log-based append-only writingstructure of the cache 102 before recovering the physical storagecapacity of the erase block. By cooperating with the destage module 606,the direct mapping module 706, and/or with the eviction module 716, inone embodiment, the garbage collection module 714 may clear certainvalid data from an erase block without copying the data forward (forexample because the replacement algorithm for the eviction module 716indicates that the valid data is unlikely to be re-requested soon),reducing write amplification, increasing available physical storagecapacity and efficiency. The garbage collection module 714 can evenclear valid user write data from an erase block, so long as the destagemodule 606 has destaged the data to the backing store 118.

For example, m one embodiment, the garbage collection module 714preserves valid data with an access frequency in the mapping structurethat is above a predefined threshold, and clears valid data from anerase block if the valid data has an access frequency below thepredefined threshold. In a further embodiment, the eviction module 716may mark certain data as conditionally evictable, conditionally invalid,or the like, and the garbage collection module 714 may evict theconditionally invalid data based on an access frequency or other datathat the direct mapping module 706 provides. In another example, thedestage module 606, the direct mapping module 706, the eviction module716, and the garbage collection module 714 may cooperate such that validdata that is in the cache 102 and is dirty gets stored on the backingstore 118 by the destage module 606 rather than copied to the front ofthe log, because the eviction module 716 indicated that it is moreadvantageous to do so, or the like.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate a variety of other examplesand scenarios in which the modules responsible for managing thenon-volatile storage media 110 that uses a log-based append-only writingstructure can leverage the information available in the direct cachemodule 116 b. Furthermore, those of skill in the art will appreciate avariety of other examples and scenarios in which the modules responsiblefor managing the cache 102 (destage module 606, direct cache module 116b, garbage collection module 714, and/or eviction module 716) canleverage the information available in solid-state controller 104regarding the condition of the non-volatile storage media 110.

In another example, the destage module 606, the direct mapping module706, the eviction module 716, and/or the garbage collection module 714,in one embodiment, cooperate such that selection of one or more blocksof data by the eviction module 716 is influenced by the UncorrectableBit Error Rates (“UBER”), Correctable Bit Error Rates (“BER”), Program IErase (“PE”) cycle counts, read frequency, or other non-volatile solidstate storage specific attributes of the region of the solid-statestorage media 110 in the cache 102 that presently holds the valid data.High BER, UBER, PEs may be used as factors to increase the likelihoodthat the eviction module 716 will evict a particular block range storedon media having those characteristics.

In one embodiment, the read request module 718 services read requestsfor data stored in the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118. The readrequest module 718, in one embodiment, detects a read request toretrieve requested data from the backing store 118. In a furtherembodiment, the read request module 718 receives read requests from thehost device 114. A read request is a read command with an indicator,such as a logical address or range of logical addresses, of the databeing requested. In one embodiment, the read request module 718 supportsread requests with several contiguous and/or noncontiguous ranges oflogical addresses, as discussed above with regard to the write requestmodule 602.

In the depicted embodiment, the read request module 718 includes a readmiss module 728 and a read retrieve module 730. The read miss module728, in one embodiment, determines whether or not requested data isstored in the cache 102. The read miss module 728 may query the cache102 directly, query the direct mapping module 706, query the mappingstructure of the direct mapping module 706, or the like to determinewhether or not requested data is stored in the cache 102.

The read retrieve module 730, in one embodiment, returns requested datato the requesting entity, such as the host device 114. If the read missmodule 728 determines that the cache 102 stores the requested data, inone embodiment, the read retrieve module 730 reads the requested datafrom the cache 102 and returns the data to the requesting entity. Thedirect mapping module 706, in one embodiment, provides the read retrievemodule 730 with one or more physical addresses of the requested data inthe cache 102 by mapping one or more logical addresses of the requesteddata to the one or more physical addresses of the requested data.

If the read miss module 728 determines that the cache 102 does not storethe requested data, in one embodiment, the read retrieve module 730reads the requested data from the backing store 118, writes therequested data to the cache 102, and returns the requested data to therequesting entity. In one embodiment, the read retrieve module 730writes the requested data to the cache 102 by appending the requesteddata to an append point of a log-based writing structure of the cache102. In a further embodiment, the read retrieve module 730 provides oneor more physical addresses corresponding to the append point to thedirect mapping module 706 with the one or more logical addresses of therequested data and the direct mapping module 706 adds and/or updates themapping structure with the mapping of logical and physical addresses forthe requested data. The read retrieve module 30, in one embodiment,writes the requested data to the cache 102 using and/or in conjunctionwith the cache write module 604.

In one embodiment, the read miss module 728 detects a partial miss,where the cache 102 stores one portion of the requested data but doesnot store another. A partial miss, in various embodiments, may be theresult of eviction of the unstored data, a block I/O request fornoncontiguous data, or the like. The read miss module 728, in oneembodiment, reads the missing data or “hole” data from the backing store118 and returns both the portion of the requested data from the cache102 and the portion of the requested data from the backing store 118 tothe requesting entity. In one embodiment, the read miss module 728stores the missing data retrieved from the backing store 118 in thecache 102.

In one embodiment, the backing store interface module 720 provides aninterface between the direct cache module 116 b, the cache 102, and/orthe backing store 118. As described above with regard to FIG. 5, invarious embodiments, the direct cache module 116 b interact with thecache 102 and/or the backing store 118 through a block device interface,a direct interface, a device driver on the host device 114, a storagecontroller, or the like. In one embodiment, the backing store interfacemodule 720 provides the direct cache module 116 b with access to one ormore of these interfaces. For example, the backing store interfacemodule 720 may receive read commands, write commands, and clear (orTRIM) commands from one or more of the cache write module 604, thedirect mapping module 706, the read request module 718, the destagemodule 606, the garbage collection module 714, and the like and relaythe commands to the cache 102 and/or the backing store 118. In a furtherembodiment, the backing store interface module 720 may translate orformat a command into a format compatible with an interface for thecache 102 and/or the backing store 118.

In one embodiment, the backing store interface module 720 has exclusiveownership over the backing store 118 and the direct cache module 116 bis an exclusive gateway to accessing the backing store 118. Providingthe backing store interface module 720 with exclusive ownership over thebacking store 118 and preventing access to the backing store 118 byother routes obviates stale data issues and cache coherencyrequirements, because all changes to data in the backing store 118 areprocessed by the direct cache module 116 b.

In a further embodiment, the backing store interface module 720 does nothave exclusive ownership of the backing store 118, and the backing storeinterface module 720 manages cache coherency for the cache 102. Forexample, in various embodiments, the backing store interface module 720may access a common directory with other users of the backing store 118to maintain coherency, may monitor write operations from other users ofthe backing store 118, may participate in a predefined coherencyprotocol with other users of the backing store 118, or the like.

FIG. 8 a schematic block diagram of an example of a forward map 804 anda reverse map 822 in accordance with the present invention. Typically,the direct cache module 116 detects and/or receives a storage request,such as storage request to read an address. For example, the directcache module 116 may receive a logical block storage request 802 tostart reading read address “182” and read 3 blocks. Typically theforward map 804 stores logical block addresses as virtual/logicaladdresses along with other virtual/logical addresses so the directmapping module 706 uses forward map 804 to identify a physical addressfrom the virtual/logical address “182” of the storage request 802. Inthe example, for simplicity, only logical addresses that are numeric areshown, but one of skill in the art will recognize that any logicaladdress may be used and represented in the forward map 804. A forwardmap 804, in other embodiments, may include alpha-numerical characters,hexadecimal characters, and the like. The forward map 804 is oneembodiment of a mapping structure described above with regard to thedirect mapping module 706.

In the example, the forward map 804 is a simple B-tree. In otherembodiments, the forward map 804 may be a CAM, a binary tree, a hashtable, or other data structure known to those of skill in the art. Inthe depicted embodiment, a B-Tree includes nodes (e.g. the root node808) that may include entries of two logical addresses. Each entry, inone embodiment, may include a range of logical addresses. For example, alogical address may be in the form of a logical identifier with a range(e.g. offset and length) or may represent a range using a first and alast address or location. In a further embodiment, each entry mayinclude an indicator of whether the included range of data is dirty orclean (not shown).

Where a single logical address or range of logical addresses is includedat a particular node, such as the root node 808, if a logical address806 being searched is lower than the logical address or addresses of thenode, the search will continue down a directed edge 810 to the left ofthe node 808. If the searched logical address 806 matches the currentnode 808 (i.e., is located within the range identified in the node), thesearch stops and the pointer, link, physical address, etc. at thecurrent node 808 is identified. If the searched logical address 806 isgreater than the range of the current node 808, the search continuesdown directed edge 812 to the right of the current node 808. Where anode includes two logical addresses or ranges of logical addresses and asearched logical address 806 falls between the listed logical addressesof the node, the search continues down a center directed edge (notshown) to nodes with logical addresses that fall between the two logicaladdresses or ranges of logical addresses of the current node 808. Asearch continues down the B-tree until either locating a desired logicaladdress or determining that the searched logical address 806 does notexist in the B-tree. As described above, in one embodiment, membershipin the B-tree denotes membership in the cache 102, and determining thatthe searched logical address 806 is not in the B-tree is a cache miss.

In the example depicted in FIG. 8, the direct mapping module 706searches for logical address “182” 806 starting at the root node 808.Since the searched logical address 806 is lower than the logical addressof 205-212 in the root node 808, the direct mapping module 706 searchesdown the directed edge 810 to the left to the next node 814. Thesearched logical address “182” 806 is greater than the logical address(072-083) stored in the next node 814 so the direct mapping module 706searches down a directed edge 816 to the right of the node 814 to thenext node 818. In this example, the next node 818 includes a logicaladdress of 178-192 so that the searched logical address “182” 806matches the logical address 178-192 of this node 818 because thesearched logical address “182” 806 falls within the range 178-192 of thenode 818.

Once the direct mapping module 706 determines a match in the forward map804, the direct mapping module 706 returns a physical address, eitherfound within the node 818 or linked to the node 818. In the depictedexample, the node 818 identified by the direct mapping module 706 ascontaining the searched logical address 806 includes a link “f’ thatmaps to an entry 820 in the reverse map 822.

In the depicted embodiment, for each entry 820 in the reverse map 822(depicted as a row in a table), the reverse map 822 includes an entry ID824, a physical address 826, a data length 828 associated with the datastored at the physical address 826 on the solid-state storage media 110(in this case the data is compressed), a valid tag 830, a logicaladdress 832 (optional), a data length 834 (optional) associated with thelogical address 832, and other miscellaneous data 836. In a furtherembodiment, the reverse map 822 may include an indicator of whether thephysical address 826 stores dirty or clean data, or the like. Thereverse map 822 is organized into erase blocks (erase regions). In thisexample, the entry 820 that corresponds to the selected node 818 islocated in erase block n 838. Erase block n 838 is preceded by eraseblock n−1 840 and followed by erase block n+1 842 (the contents of eraseblocks n−1 and n+1 are not shown). An erase block may be some eraseregion that includes a predetermined number of pages. An erase region isan area in the solid-state storage media 110 erased together in astorage recovery operation.

While the entry ID 824 is shown as being part of the reverse map 822,the entry ID) 824 may be an address, a virtual link, or other means totie an entry in the reverse map 822 to a node in the forward map 804.The physical address 826 is an address in the solid-state storage media110 where data that corresponds to the searched logical address 806resides. The data length 828 associated with the physical address 826identifies a length of the data packet stored at the physical address826. (Together the physical address 826 and data length 828 may becalled destination parameters 844 and the logical address 832 andassociated data length 834 may be called source parameters 846 forconvenience.) In the example, the data length 828 of the destinationparameters 844 is different from the data length 834 of the sourceparameters 846 in one embodiment compression the data packet stored onthe solid-state storage media 110 was compressed prior to storage. Forthe data associated with the entry 820, the data was highly compressibleand was compressed from 64 blocks t 1 block.

The valid tag 830 indicates if the data mapped to the entry 820 is validor not. In this case, the data associated with the entry 820 is validand is depicted in FIG. 8 as a “Y” in the row of the entry 820.Typically the reverse map 822 tracks both valid and invalid data and theforward map 804 tracks valid data. In the example, entry “c” 848indicates that data associated with the entry 848 is invalid. Note thatthe forward map 804 does not include logical addresses associated withentry “c” 848. The reverse map 822 typically maintains entries forinvalid data so that valid and invalid data can be quickly distinguishedduring a storage recovery operation. In certain embodiments, the forwardmap 804 and/or the reverse map 822 may track dirty and clean data in asimilar manner to distinguish dirty data from clean data.

The depicted reverse map 822 includes source parameters 846 forconvenience, but the reverse map 822 may or may not include the sourceparameters 846. For example, if the source parameters 846 are storedwith the data, possibly in a header of the stored data, the reverse map822 could identify a logical address indirectly by including a physicaladdress 826 associated with the data and the source parameters 846 couldbe identified from the stored data. One of skill in the art willrecognize when storing source parameters 846 in a reverse map 822 wouldbe beneficial.

The reverse map 822 may also include other miscellaneous data 836, suchas a file name, object name, source data, etc. One of skill in the artwill recognize other information useful in a reverse map 822. Whilephysical addresses 826 are depicted in the reverse map 822, in otherembodiments, physical addresses 826, or other destination parameters844, may be included in other locations, such as in the forward map 804,an intermediate table or data structure, etc.

Typically, the reverse map 822 is arranged by erase block or eraseregion so that traversing a section of the map associated with an eraseblock (e.g. erase block n 838) allows the garbage collection module 714to identify valid data in the erase block 838 and to quantify an amountof valid data, or conversely invalid data, in the erase block 838.Similarly, the destage module 606, in certain embodiments, may traversethe reverse map 822 and/or the forward map 804 to locate dirty data fordestaging, to quantify an amount of dirty data and/or clean data, or thelike. Arranging an index into a forward map 804 that can be quicklysearched to identify a physical address 826 from a logical address 806and a reverse map 822 that can be quickly searched to identify validdata and quantity of valid data (and/or dirty data) in an erase block838 is beneficial because the index may be optimized for searches,storage recovery, and/or destaging operations. One of skill in the artwill recognize other benefits of an index with a forward map 804 and areverse map 822.

FIG. 9 depicts one embodiment of a mapping structure 900, a logicaladdress space 920 of the cache 102, a combined logical address space 919that is accessible to a storage client, a sequential, log-based,append-only writing structure 940, and a storage device address space970 of the backing store 118. The mapping structure 900, in oneembodiment, is maintained by the direct mapping module 706. The mappingstructure 900, in the depicted embodiment, is a B-tree that issubstantially similar to the forward map 804 described above with regardto FIG. 8, with several additional entries. Further, instead of linksthat map to entries in a reverse map 822, the nodes of the mappingstructure 900 include direct references to physical locations in thecache 102. The mapping structure 900, in various embodiments, may beused either with or without a reverse map 822. As described above withregard to the forward map 804 of FIG. 8, in other embodiments, thereferences in the mapping structure 900 may include alpha-numericalcharacters, hexadecimal characters, pointers, links, and the like.

The mapping structure 900, in the depicted embodiment, includes aplurality of nodes. Each node, in the depicted embodiment, is capable ofstoring two entries. In other embodiments, each node may be capable ofstoring a greater number of entries, the number of entries at each levelmay change as the mapping structure 900 grows or shrinks through use, orthe like. In a further embodiment, each entry may store one or moreindicators of whether the data corresponding to the entry is clean ordirty, valid or invalid, read data or write data, or the like.

Each entry, in the depicted embodiment, maps a variable length range oflogical addresses of the cache 102 to a physical location in the storagemedia 110 for the cache 102. Further, while variable length ranges oflogical addresses, in the depicted embodiment, are represented by astarting address and an ending address, in other embodiments, a variablelength range of addresses may be represented by a starting address and alength or by another representation. In one embodiment, the capitalletters ‘A’ through ‘M’ represent a logical or physical erase block inthe physical storage media 110 of the cache 102 that stores the data ofthe corresponding range of logical addresses. In other embodiments, thecapital letters may represent other physical addresses or locations ofthe cache 102. In the depicted embodiment, the capital letters ‘A’through ‘M’ are also depicted in the writing structure 940 whichrepresents the physical storage media 110 of the cache 102. Althougheach range of logical addresses maps simply to an entire erase block, inthe depicted embodiment, for simplicity of description, in otherembodiments, a single erase block may store a plurality of ranges oflogical addresses, ranges of logical addresses may cross erase blockboundaries, and the like.

In the depicted embodiment, membership in the mapping structure 900denotes membership (or storage) in the cache 102. In another embodiment,an entry may further include an indicator of whether the cache 102stores data corresponding to a logical block within the range of logicaladdresses, data of the reverse map 822 described above, and/or otherdata. For example, in one embodiment, the mapping structure 900 may alsomap logical addresses of the backing store 118 to physical addresses orlocations within the backing store 118, and an entry may include anindicator that the cache 102 does not store the data and a physicaladdress or location for the data on the backing store 118. The mappingstructure 900, in the depicted embodiment, is accessed and traversed ina similar manner as that described above with regard to the forward map804.

In the depicted embodiment, the root node 808 includes entries 902, 904with noncontiguous ranges of logical addresses. A “hole” exists atlogical address “208” between the two entries 902, 904 of the root node.In one embodiment, a “hole” indicates that the cache 102 does not storedata corresponding to one or more logical addresses corresponding to the“hole.” In one embodiment, a “hole” may exist because the evictionmodule 716 evicted data corresponding to the “hole” from the cache 102.If the eviction module 716 evicted data corresponding to a “hole,” inone embodiment, the backing store 118 still stores data corresponding tothe “hole.” In another embodiment, the cache 102 and/or the backingstore 118 supports block I/O requests (read, write, trim, etc.) withmultiple contiguous and/or noncontiguous ranges of addresses (i.e.,ranges that include one or more “holes” in them). A “hole,” in oneembodiment, may be the result of a single block I/O request with two ormore noncontiguous ranges of addresses. In a further embodiment, a“hole” may be the result of several different block I/O requests withaddress ranges bordering the “hole.”

In FIG. 8, the root node 808 includes a single entry with a logicaladdress range of “205-212,” without the hole at logical address “208.”If the entry of the root node 908 were a fixed size cache line of atraditional cache, the entire range of logical addresses “205-212” wouldbe evicted together. Instead, in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 9, theeviction module 716 evicts data of a single logical address “208” andsplits the range of logical addresses into two separate entries 902,904. In one embodiment, the direct mapping module 706 may rebalance themapping structure 900, adjust the location of a directed edge, rootnode, or child node, or the like in response to splitting a range oflogical addresses. Similarly, in one embodiment, each range of logicaladdresses may have a dynamic and/or variable length, allowing the cache102 to store dynamically selected and/or variable lengths of logicalblock ranges.

In the depicted embodiment, similar “holes” or noncontiguous ranges oflogical addresses exist between the entries 906, 908 of the node 814,between the entries 910, 912 of the left child node of the node 814,between entries 914, 916 of the node 818, and between entries of thenode 918. In one embodiment, similar “holes” may also exist betweenentries in parent nodes and child nodes. For example, in the depictedembodiment, a “hole” of logical addresses “060-071” exists between theleft entry 906 of the node 814 and the right entry 912 of the left childnode of the node 814.

The “hole” at logical address “003,” in the depicted embodiment, canalso be seen in the logical address space 920 of the cache 102 atlogical address “003” 930. The hash marks at logical address “003” 940represent an empty location, or a location for which the cache 102 doesnot store data. In the depicted embodiment, storage device address “003”980 of the storage device address space 970 does store data (identifiedas ‘b’), indicating that the eviction module 716 evicted data fromlogical address “003” 930 of the cache 102. The “hole” at logicaladdress 934 in the logical address space 920, however, has nocorresponding data in storage device address 984, indicating that the“hole” is due to one or more block I/O requests with noncontiguousranges, a trim or other deallocation command to both the cache 102 andthe backing store 118, or the like.

The “hole” at logical address “003” 930 of the logical address space920, however, in one embodiment, is not viewable or detectable to astorage client. In the depicted embodiment, the combined logical addressspace 919 represents the data that is available to a storage client,with data that is stored in the cache 102 and data that is stored in thebacking store 118 but not in the cache 102. As described above, the readmiss module 728 of FIG. 7 handles misses and returns requested data to arequesting entity. In the depicted embodiment, if a storage clientrequests data at logical address “003” 930, the read miss module 728will retrieve the data from the backing store 118, as depicted ataddress “003” 980 of the storage device address space 970, and returnthe requested data to the storage client. The requested data at logicaladdress “003” 930 may then also be placed back in the cache 102 and thuslogical address 930 would indicate ‘b’ as present in the cache 102.

For a partial miss, the read miss module 728 may return a combination ofdata from both the cache 102 and the backing store 118. For this reason,the combined logical address space 919 includes data ‘b’ at logicaladdress “003” 930 and the “hole” in the logical address space 920 of thecache 102 is transparent. In the depicted embodiment, the combinedlogical address space 919 is the size of the logical address space 920of the cache 102 and is larger than the storage device address space980. In another embodiment, the direct cache module 116 may size thecombined logical address space 919 as the size of the storage deviceaddress space 980, or as another size.

The logical address space 920 of the cache 102, in the depictedembodiment, is larger than the physical storage capacity andcorresponding storage device address space 970 of the backing store 118.In the depicted embodiment, the cache 102 has a 64 bit logical addressspace 920 beginning at logical address “O” 922 and extending to logicaladdress “264-1” 926. The storage device address space 970 begins atstorage device address “O” 972 and extends to storage device address “N”974. Storage device address “N” 974, in the depicted embodiment,corresponds to logical address “N” 924 in the logical address space 920of the cache 102. Because the storage device address space 970corresponds to only a subset of the logical address space 920 of thecache 102, the rest of the logical address space 920 may be shared withan additional cache 102, may be mapped to a different backing store 118,may store data in the cache 102 (such as a Non-volatile memory cache)that is not stored in the storage device 970, or the like.

For example, in the depicted embodiment, the first range of logicaladdresses “000-002” 928 stores data corresponding to the first range ofstorage device addresses “000-002” 978. Data corresponding to logicaladdress “003” 930, as described above, was evicted from the cache 102forming a “hole” and a potential cache miss. The second range of logicaladdresses “004-059” 932 corresponds to the second range of storagedevice addresses “004-059” 982. However, the final range of logicaladdresses 936 extending from logical address “N” 924 extends beyondstorage device address “N” 974. No storage device address in the storagedevice address space 970 corresponds to the final range of logicaladdresses 936. The cache 102 may store the data corresponding to thefinal range of logical addresses 936 until the data backing store 118 isreplaced with larger storage or is expanded logically, until anadditional data backing store 118 is added, simply use the non-volatilestorage capability of the cache 102 to indefinitely provide storagecapacity directly to a storage client 504 independent of a backing store118, or the like. In a further embodiment, the direct cache module 116alerts a storage client 504, an operating system, a user application502, or the like in response to detecting a write request with a rangeof addresses, such as the final range of logical addresses 936, thatextends beyond the storage device address space 970. The user may thenperform some maintenance or other remedial operation to address thesituation. Depending on the nature of the data, no further action may betaken. For example, the data may represent temporary data which if lostwould cause no ill effects.

The sequential, log-based, append-only writing structure 940, in thedepicted embodiment, is a logical representation of the log preserved inthe physical storage media 110 of the cache 102. In a furtherembodiment, the backing store 118 may use a substantially similarsequential, log-based, append-only writing structure 940. In certainembodiments, the cache 102 stores data sequentially, appending data tothe writing structure 940 at an append point 944. The cache 102, in afurther embodiment, uses a storage space recovery process, such as thegarbage collection module 714 that re-uses non-volatile storage media110 storing deallocated, unused, or evicted logical blocks. Non-volatilestorage media 110 storing deallocated, unused, or evicted logicalblocks, in the depicted embodiment, is added to an available storagepool 946 for the cache 102. By evicting and clearing certain data fromthe cache 102, as described above, and adding the physical storagecapacity corresponding to the evicted and/or cleared data back to theavailable storage pool 946, in one embodiment, the writing structure 940is ring-like and has a theoretically infinite capacity.

In the depicted embodiment, the append point 944 progresses around thelog-based, append-only writing structure 940 in a circular pattern 942.In one embodiment, the circular pattern 942 wear balances thesolid-state storage media 110, increasing a usable life of thesolid-state storage media 110. In the depicted embodiment, the evictionmodule 716 and/or the garbage collection module 714 have marked severalblocks 948, 950, 952, 954 as invalid, represented by an “X” marking onthe blocks 948, 950, 952, 954. The garbage collection module 714, in oneembodiment, will recover the physical storage capacity of the invalidblocks 948, 950, 952, 954 and add the recovered capacity to theavailable storage pool 946. In the depicted embodiment, modifiedversions of the blocks 948, 950, 952, 954 have been appended to thewriting structure 940 as new blocks 956, 958, 960, 962 in a read,modify, write operation or the like, allowing the original blocks 948,950, 952, 954 to be recovered. In further embodiments, the garbagecollection module 714 may copy forward to the append point 944 any dirtydata and selectively any valid data that the blocks 948, 950, 952, 954store, if any.

FIG. 10 depicts one embodiment of address order destaging using amapping structure 1000 and log order destaging using a log 1020 inaccordance with the present invention. As described above, in variousembodiments, the destage module 606 may destage data from the cache 102to the backing store 118 in cache log order using the log order module722, in backing store address order using the address order module 724,or both.

In one embodiment, the address order module 724 traverses the mappingstructure 1000 to locate one or more ranges of backing store addressesfor destaging. As described above with regard to the mapping structure900 of FIG. 9, the logical addresses of the cache 102 stored in themapping structure 1000, in the depicted embodiment, are also the backingstore addresses of the backing store 118. Destaging data in logicaladdress order based on ranges of logical addresses in the mappingstructure 1000, in certain embodiments, is also destaging in backingstore address order, as the logical addresses are directly mapped tobacking store addresses. In another embodiment where backing storeaddresses are not directly mapped to logical addresses of the cache 102,the mapping structure 1000 may map backing store addresses to logicaland/or physical addresses of the cache 102.

The address order module 724, in one embodiment, locates ranges ofbacking store addresses for destaging that correspond to dirty writedata that has not yet been destaged to the backing store 118. Entries ofthe mapping structure 1000, in one embodiment, include indicators ofwhether the data corresponding to the entry is clean or dirty. In afurther embodiment, the address order module 724 may reference a reversemap, a data structure of the dirty indicator module 712, or the like todetermine whether data corresponding to an entry in the mappingstructure 1000 is clean or dirty. In one embodiment, the direct mappingmodule 706 may maintain separate mapping structures for dirty data andfor clean data, and the mapping structure 1000 may include just entriesfor dirty data.

In one embodiment, the address order module 724 selects one or moreranges of backing store addresses for destaging that include at least apredefined sequential threshold number of contiguous, sequential backingstore addresses. For example, in the depicted embodiment, entries 1002,1004, 1006, 1008, 1010, 1012, and 1014 each include a range of five ormore sequential, contiguous, backing store addresses, and would satisfya predefined sequential threshold of five.

In a further embodiment, the address order module 724 may combineentries to form a range of backing store addresses with one or moreholes. For example, in certain embodiments, the address order module 724may combine adjacent entries 1018 with backing store addresses “000-002”and “004-059” and/or may combine adjacent entries 1019 with backingstore addresses “205-207” and “209-212” for destaging, even with holesat backing store address “003” and backing store address “208.” In otherembodiments, a hole may comprise multiple backing store addresses. Inone embodiment, the address order module 724 combines ranges of backingstore addresses that together include at least a predefined sequentialthreshold amount of sequential backing store addresses, even if theranges are not contiguous.

The address order module 724, in one embodiment, may traverse themapping structure 1000 in backing store address order and destage rangesof data in backing store address order. For example, in the depictedembodiment, with a predefined sequential threshold amount of five andwithout combining ranges, the address order module 724 may destage entry“004-059” 1002, destage entry “072-076” 1004, destage entry “186-192”1006, destage entry “213-250” 1008, destage entry “291-347” 1010,destage entry “257-280” 1012, destage entry “454-477” 1014, and destageentry “535-598” 1016 in numerical address order, provided the entries1002, 1004, 1006, 1008, 1010, 1012, 1014, 1016 each comprise dirty writedata.

In another embodiment, the address order module 724 may traverse themapping structure 1000 in a different order, such as by level in theB-tree of the mapping structure 1000, from top to bottom, bottom to top,or the like. In a further embodiment, the address order module 724 maytraverse the mapping structure 1000 based on one or more statistics ofthe mapping structure 1000. For example, in one embodiment, the directmapping module 706 may maintain access statistics for each entry, node,and/or branch of the mapping structure 1000, and the address ordermodule 724 may begin destaging ranges of backing store addresses thatare least accessed or “coldest,” and proceed with destaging in a leastaccessed order, or the like. In another embodiment, the address ordermodule 724 may select ranges of backing store addresses for destagingfrom the largest range toward the smallest range, destaging largerranges of backing store addresses first.

In one embodiment, the log order module 722 destages in cache log orderalong the log 1020. In the depicted embodiment, the log order module 722maintains a pointer 1022 indicating a position in the log 1020 at whichthe log order module 722 is currently destaging data. The log ordermodule 722, in the depicted embodiment, moves the pointer 1022 along thelog 1020 in a logically circular pattern 1024, moving from the tail ofthe log 1020 (i.e., the oldest data) toward the head of the log 1020(i.e. the newest data). The log order module 722, in one embodiment,skips data, such as the depicted block “A,” that has been invalidated bya subsequent write, such as the depicted block “A′,” by being copiedforward on the log 1020, or the like. In one embodiment, the recent datamodule 708 prevents the log order module 722 and/or the address ordermodule 724 from destaging data within a predefined distance 1026 of theappend point 944.

The log order module 722, in various embodiments, may determine whatdata in a block is dirty using a reverse map, a data structure of thedirty indicator module 712, data stored with each block of the log 1020,or the like to determine what data of each region or block of the log1020 is dirty. In one embodiment, the cache 102 may include one or moreseparate append points 944 and/or separate logs 1020 for dirty data, andthe log 1020 may include just dirty data for destaging, or the like. Incertain embodiments, as the log order module 722 selects regions orblocks of the log 1020 for destaging, the re-order module 726 re-ordersdata within the region or block into backing store address order fordestaging.

FIG. 11 depicts one embodiment of a method 1100 for destaging cacheddata in accordance with the present invention. The method 1100 begins,and the cache write module 604 caches 1102 data corresponding to thewrite request in the cache 102. The destage module 606, in the depictedembodiment, de stages 1104 data, such as dirty write data or the like,from the cache 102 to the backing store 118 in cache log order. Thewrite request module 602, in the depicted embodiment, continues todetect 1102 write requests.

FIG. 12 depicts another embodiment of a method 1200 for destaging cacheddata in accordance with the present invention. The method 1200 begins,and the write request module 602 detects 1202 whether or not a writerequest has been made to store data on the backing store 118. If thewrite request module 602 does not detect 1202 a write request, the writerequest module 602 continues to detect 1202 write requests.

In the depicted embodiment, if the write request module 602 detects 1202a write request, the cache write module 604 caches 1204 datacorresponding to the write request in the cache 102. The destagingpressure module 702, in the depicted embodiment, determines 1206 adestaging pressure for the cache 102. As described above with regard tothe destaging pressure module 702 of FIG. 7, a de staging pressure is alevel of demand for destaging cached data of the cache 102. Thedestaging rate module 704, in the depicted embodiment, determines 1208whether the destaging pressure satisfies a predefined destaging pressurecriteria. If the destaging rate module 704 determines 1208 that thedestaging pressure does not satisfy the predefined destaging pressurecriteria, the log order module 722 destages 1210 at least a portion ofdirty write data in the cache 102 in a cache log order. If the destagingrate module 704 determines 1208 that the destaging pressure does satisfythe predefined destaging pressure criteria, the address order module 724destages 1212 at least a portion of dirty write data in the cache 102 ina backing store address order.

The recent data module 708, in the depicted embodiment, prevents 1214the log order module 722 and the address order module 724 from destagingdata near or within a predefined distance of an append point of the log.The write request module 602, in the depicted embodiment, continues todetect 1202 write requests.

FIG. 13 depicts one embodiment of a method 1300 for log order destagingin accordance with the present invention. In the depicted embodiment,the method 1300 begins, and the direct cache module 116, also referredto as a cache controller, makes a log order destaging request 1302 tothe storage controller 104 of the cache 102. In response to the logorder destaging request 1302, the storage controller 104 finds 1304 anoldest region in a log of the cache 102 that has dirty data. The storagecontroller 104, in the depicted embodiment, copies 1306 the dirty datafrom the oldest region in the log to a buffer. In one embodiment, thestorage controller 104 may copy 1306 the dirty data in backing storeaddress order, re-ordering the dirty data if necessary. In certainembodiments, the storage controller 104 may lock the selected region,mark the selected region as not groomable, or the like. In a furtherembodiment, the storage controller 104 may allow the selected region tobe groomed during the destaging process, since the storage controller104 copied the dirty data to the buffer for destaging and the dirty dataremains accessible to the direct cache module 116 in the buffer.

The direct cache module 116, in the depicted embodiment, destages 1308the dirty data of the oldest region with dirty data from the buffer tothe backing store 118. The direct cache module 116, in one embodiment,destages 1308 or writes the dirty data of the oldest region to thebacking store 118 in cache log order, the order in which data was storedto the region. In a further embodiment, the direct cache module 116 maydestage 1308 or write the dirty data of the oldest region to the backingstore 118 re-ordered in a backing store address order.

In one embodiment, the destaging 1308 is canceled or stopped in responseto receiving a write request writing data to addresses selected fordestaging. In a further embodiment, the destaging 1308 may continue inresponse to an invalidating write request and the new write data issubsequently destaged 1308 to overwrite the invalid data. In response tothe direct cache module 116 completing the destaging 1308, the storagecontroller 104 marks 1310 the destaged data as clean in the cache 102,unless the data has been invalidated by a subsequent write, or the like.In certain embodiments, if a grooming process of the storage controller104 copied the data forward during the destaging 1308, the storagecontroller 104 marks the data clean in the data's new location. In thedepicted embodiment, the method 1300 continues and the direct cachemodule 116 requests 1302 additional log order destaging.

FIG. 14 depicts one embodiment of a method 1400 for address orderdestaging in accordance with the present invention. In the depictedembodiment, the direct cache module 116, or cache controller, sends 1402a request for backing store address order destaging to the storagecontroller 104 of the cache 102. The storage controller 104, in thedepicted embodiment, finds 1404 a range of dirty data in backing storeaddress order in a mapping structure of the cache 102 and sends therange of dirty data (or associated addresses) to the direct cache module116, to data storage accessible to the direct cache module 116, or thelike.

The direct cache module 116, in the depicted embodiment, destages 1406the dirty data of the selected range to the backing store 118. Incertain embodiments, the storage controller 104 may queue anyinvalidating write requests that overlap the selected range of dirtydata until the direct cache module 116 completes the destaging 1406, orthe like. The storage controller 104, in the depicted embodiment, marks1408 the destaged data as clean in the cache 102. In certainembodiments, if a grooming process of the storage controller 104 copiedthe data forward during the destaging 1406, the storage controller 104marks the data clean in the data's new location. In the depictedembodiment, the method 1400 continues and the direct cache module 116requests 1402 additional backing store address order destaging.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The describedembodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrativeand not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicatedby the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. Allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are to be embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for destaging cached data, the methodcomprising: caching data corresponding to write requests pertaining to abacking store, the data written to cache storage as dirty cache data,the cache storage comprising an ordered log maintained on a nonvolatilestorage medium; and performing destage operations to destage cache tothe backing store, wherein performing a destage operation comprises:determining a destage metric for the cache storage, the destage metriccorresponding to an amount of dirty cache data within the cache storage;using a first criterion to select data from the cache storage for thedestage operation in response to the destage metric exceeding athreshold, the first criterion corresponding to a sequential backingstore address order; and using a second criterion, different from thefirst criterion, to select the data from the cache storage for thedestage operation in response to the destage metric failing to exceedthe threshold, the second criterion corresponding to a log order.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein determining the destage metric comprisesmaintaining a tally of the amount of dirty cache data currently storedwithin the cache storage.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein performingthe destage operations further comprises: adjusting a destaging rate ofthe destage operations based on the destage metric.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein: the first criterion corresponds to a sequentialbacking store address order, such that data are selected from the cachestorage based on backing store addresses associated with the data. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein selecting data using the first criterioncomprises traversing a mapping structure that maps backing storeaddresses to locations on physical storage media of the nonvolatilestorage medium and selecting a destage data range such that members ofthe data range have contiguous and sequential backing store addresses.6. The method of claim 4, wherein: each backing store address directlymaps to a logical address of a logical address space associated with thenonvolatile storage medium; and logical addresses of the cache storageare independent of physical storage media addresses of the nonvolatilestorage medium.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein a destage rate fordestage operations using the first criterion is higher than a destagerate for destage operations using the second criterion.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising preventing destaging of data within apredefined distance of an append point of the ordered log of thenonvolatile solid-state cache.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining the destage metric comprises determining a differencebetween an actual amount of dirty cache data within the cache storageand a target amount of dirty cache data.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein: the second criterion corresponds to a log order; and selectingdata using the second criterion comprises selecting data within one of aplurality of regions of the ordered log, the regions ordered in the logorder.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: destaging datafrom a designated region of the ordered log; and re-ordering data of thedesignated region to a backing store address order.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the ordered log comprises multiple append points forwriting cached data, the multiple append points comprising at least oneappend point for writing dirty cache data and at least one append pointfor writing clean cache data, the clean cache data comprising cache datathat is stored in the backing store.
 13. An apparatus, comprising: meansfor sending write requests pertaining to a backing store to a storagecontroller, the storage controller configured to cache data associatedwith the write requests in a log, the log comprising a sequential,log-based structure stored within a nonvolatile solid-state storagedevice; means for determining an amount of data cached within thenonvolatile solid-state storage device that has not been destaged to thebacking store; means for using a sequential backing store address orderfor the destaging when the determined amount exceeds a threshold; andmeans for using a log order for the destaging when the determined amountdoes not exceed the threshold.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe threshold defines a target amount of dirty write data to cachewithin the nonvolatile solid-state storage device.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 13, further comprising means for determining the amount of datacached within the nonvolatile solid-state storage device that has notbeen destaged to the backing store.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein the means for sending, the means for determining, the means forusing a sequential backing store address order, and the means for usinga log order comprise a device driver executing on a host computersystem.
 17. A system, comprising: a cache comprising a log maintainedwithin a nonvolatile solid-state storage device, the log comprising asequential, log-based structure; a backing store; a cache controllerconfigured to admit dirty write data into the cache in response to writerequests pertaining to the backing store, the dirty write data appendedto the log maintained within the nonvolatile solid-state storage device;and a destage module configured to destage dirty write data from thecache to the backing store, by: determining a destage pressure on thecache, the determined destage pressure corresponding to an amount ofdirty write data cached within the log; destaging dirty write data fromthe cache according to a sequential backing store address ordering ofthe dirty write data within the cache in response to the determineddestage pressure satisfying a threshold; and destaging dirty write datafrom the cache according to a log ordering of the dirty write datawithin the cache in response to the determined destage pressure failingto exceed the threshold.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the cachecontroller is further configured to receive at least a portion of thedirty write data from the nonvolatile solid-state storage device in thesequential backing store address order and to destage the received dirtywrite data to the backing store in the sequential backing store addressorder.
 19. The system of claim 17, further comprising a host computersystem comprising a processor, wherein the cache controller andcomprises a device driver executing on the processor of the hostcomputer system.